The Shade Of A Secret
by rwbybomb21
Summary: Summary has been updated: Ruby has been widely known for being...unwanted due to her past and current actions. will her arrival at Beacon tear judgements apart? Or will they get what they never thought they would find? what will they, the students and enemies, do? only one way to find out... read it. I have writer's block, so it is coming along slowly.
1. dark hearts, soft minds:part 1

A/N: alright, this will be a slight AU. The slight bit being that Ruby is , well, different from her canon self. The story line is not so different from the canon one, so I'm forced to say this:

"I do not , nor will I ever, own RWBY or any associated parties and/ or franchises."

Enjoy.

(^^^^^^)

What was wrong with today? Absolutely nothing...except the dreaming that Ruby was engaged in. Every single one was the exact same as the last. She had, to cause this, witnessed a horrific and somewhat scarring event within her past. She was so much so scarred that she had actually became one of the most notorious, vengeful and otherwise brutal vigilante to ever grace the entire planet. Once, the general public- or, to be more realistic, anyone who saw her- was immediately helped in a way which would only buy their silence. She once saved a group of white fang from being obliterated by the hands of two deathstalkers, just to ask- very politely, I might add- for their unconditional silence and that they never bothered her or anyone around her, at least while she was their. She even made a deal with the white fang leader, Ramos, to allow her safe passage to and from the white fang base.

Of course, she wasn't considered a friend of the white fang, but the public had not cared; she was there to rectify the misbehaviour of any and all citizens; be it convicts or normal civilians looking for a rush. The typical penalty was, of course, death. But for those she was sure wouldn't do it again, were left with a nasty mark of their promise: she carved a rose into their arm. What many did not know, was that the horrors she had witnessed from a young age were not the only cause; it was the fact that she had been denied the simple request of sanctuary because- as was not evident to others- she was an orphan. She had, of course, a half sister, but she did not want to see her, due to the fact and the reason that she had left her alone, and was sure that Yang hated her. She then felt dejected from both her family and society. She has a dark secret that, including Yang, no one knows about. This would show too many a bystander, that the mystery that is Ruby Rose, should be avoided at all times; the only thing they feared worse than the Grimm, was, of course, her. She had a very short fuse, a red cape- which was never, ever taken off, and was her only identity as people could only identify her with her and the inseparable cape- her short stature, silver eyes and pointed, fang- like teeth. Many had speculated about her strange teeth which had been in the reports from very rare witnesses. They had thought of many different possibilities, and some impossibilities; one, she was a Faunus of a dog kind. Second, she was a half Grimm-half human. Third, she was a mythical vampire. The public regarded the faunus one as a possibility, as she was in with the white fang a few years ago, before they turned violent, but then disregarded this thought completely as a simple way of retaining peace. The many, many nearby bounty hunters and even the hunters and huntresses who fought Grimm had, at one time or another, actually tracked down Ruby Rose, only to ask for assistance. They had heard of her unmatched combat abilities and of the weapon dubbed only as Crescent Rose. She was then rewarded with money, which she simply gave to the many orphanages around Vale, never once talking on any of her missions or even to her sister. She was, as it seemed, an extreme introvert, only ever once talking after the incident with her parents. She had never even talked in the middle of battle, instead giving orders and commands to the bounty hunter through sign language and stern looks, though none could make her face out as she never lowered the cloak she wore, the hood always raised.

The way she fought, the way she handled herself with such discipline, such grace, she was almost destined to be a leader of the Beacon academy, though, due to her age and height, she was considered as a trainee there. She had simply ignored any ways to start conversation as her oath she had made had stayed ingrained on her brain. She was almost forgetting to speak, only once ever doing so when she visited her mother's grave and her father's family tomb every once a year, wishing them a farewell from the bottom of her heart, before leaving.

This was when she got the invitation, or, at least, not soon after...

(^^^^^^)

The room was dark, but that never mattered to her. She had made an abandoned home hers, as she scared away any who claimed it as her own. She knew she was breaking the law, but never cared for it. She also knew that, as many of the other citizens who actually approved of what she was doing, that the law had to be broken once in a while to enforce it, as the police were of no significant help. As she stepped through the door she had noted two things wrong with it; the first being the window wide open as she had specifically closed it, and second, the note left on the bare table on of which she slept on. She wasn't much of an eater, as she had a peculiar taste in food and drink. She had never gotten her food from shops, as she instead preferred to get it from the alleys and sewers. Although, she had to admit, they never tasted as good as they did when they didn't drink alcohol and they weren't laded with fat and disease, but she could not complain.

She walked, her hips in a sway as she approached the table at calm and slow paces. Once there, her pale ghostly hand reached down, half expecting it to be a trap of some kind as her other hand reached for the note on the table. This was not an uncommon occurrence, as she had been contracted by many a different amount of people, to usually solve problems way out of their reach. Something about this note was off, however, as the writing was soft and steadily wrote, as the others had been hastily scribbled to prevent being caught in her home, which would inevitably cause her to become angered and somewhat worried that they had found her and she would turn her "Sweetheart" on them.

Her silver eyes were scanning the writing, her calm exterior and interior remained so, as she read the note a second time, looking for any way of falsification. She could find none. It simply stated:

_Roman Torchwick,_

_Dust till Dawn,_

_Robbery,_

_Seven A.M._

This was usually the length of the previous notes she had gotten, but many would find it as odd that was the only words she received. To be honest, she felt relieved; relieved and somewhat still calm as the note was short, the reason being that she had never felt like much of a reader for requests that weren't straight to the point, as many found out. They also realized that death threats were also a no-go as she always managed to find them, and would inflict upon them what the threat would say.

She made her way to the dust shop, allowing herself some time to prepare on how to stop the dust heist. Passersby had noticed her enter the shop, and when Roman Torchwick, in his usual white and black outfit, they instantly thought the man was collaborating with Ruby- or as they have named her, Red- and instantly moved out of their way, gasping and not wanting to annoy the red girl further. He entered the shop and made straight for the counter, not noticing the red girl reading a weapons magazine, carefully watching them from behind the images of weapons which slightly- but not too much to distract her from her objective- distracted her.

"Do you know how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late at night?" at that, his goon, a red clothed, top hat wearing fool raised a pistol to the clerk's face, making the old man raise his arms in immediate defeat.

"Just take the lien and go." His voice was trembling as was he. This elicited a soft shushing form Roman, as he shook his head slightly as he did so.

"Calm down, we don't want your money." He then turned his head towards his goons and ordered, with a commanding voice; "Take the dust." as his cohorts went for the dust, one went round to a still reading Ruby, who was completely aware of the thug as her headphones blared with music from 'This will be the day'. He approached unaware of the person he was approaching until he got too close to make out the grimacing smile from underneath a red hood, and, before he could even move, felt himself flying across the room, hitting a bookshelf and collapsing next to Roman, who tilted his head towards another goon to see what had happened as he stood with his arms resting comfortably on a display case.

As the second one approached, her song ended, being replaced with 'angel with a shotgun' blaring out even louder. She immediately tackled him through a window, her hood still covering her face as she unsheathed Crescent Rose and impaled the man through the gut, killing him with the enormous scythe instantly. Her head turned to see the faces of terror on the goons of Roman as he too came into view, clearly not knowing who she was until a bystander saw her and ran screaming, shouting "It's her! It's Red!"

He glanced to his left, then his right as he noticed the faces of shock and horror on their faces. "Well, go get them." at that, they found a semblance of courage, all charging at the young woman, not knowing that a part of her plan was for this to happen.

She carefully spun her scythe around her, she spinning with it as if she were using a hula hoop. The first one died too quick, the scythe piercing his neck and taking a chunk with it. The second shot at her, though was quickly stabbed through the heart with the scythe, before she shot through the third's head, blasting it into nothing but meaty and chunky pieces. Roman's face quickly turned to horror as well as he immediately remembered who she was, before composing himself.

"Well, you were truly worth every cent." He looked over to Red, who was slowly walking towards him, scythe over her shoulder as she walked, her hips swaying as she did so. "Well, Red, I would love to stay and chat but I have plans to do." She knew he would do this; but she didn't know about the rocket launcher in the bent over cane. He raised it and an aimed reticule came out, spring upwards before he targeted the still walking Red and shot. She raised her scythe in the last minute, blocking the attack as she stood still.

As the dust cleared she looked left and right, before seeing him retreat up a metal ladder to the roof. Using the scythe's other mechanism, she shot herself upwards. As using her semblance was not the best idea as she would have another way for people to recognise her, she had resorted to this; shooting the gun at an angle, she shot herself upwards, landing silently behind him as he stopped running, waiting for an airship.

"Persistent. Clearly you live up to the legends." She said nothing to this, and instead steeled herself as an airship dropped in to her view and Roman jumped on. Enraged as he was about to escape, she turned to scythe into her gun mode, shooting bullets at the ship. Roman threw a red dust crystal at her, before laughing at the explosion, only to look back at an unharmed and unflinching Red with a glyph in front of her, followed by a mysterious huntress.

He instinctively stopped laughing and ran into the cockpit as a bullet form an enraged Ruby caused the ship to stumble about in the air. "We got a huntress and Red." The pilot, Cinder, let go and dashed for the open door, allowing Roman to take the helm, using her fire abilities to block the bullets and warped debris from the huntress and Red.

Needless to say, Red was irritated that a huntress had ruined the chanced to complete one of the highest paying and probably one of the most peaceful ways to end the hostility towards the Faunus. As she was walking away, about to use her semblance to disappear and go home to contemplate the actions that had taken place today, a soft yet stern voice came from behind her.

"Don't leave, there's someone who wants to meet you." Ignoring the woman she was about to use her semblance when a glyph caught her foot, stopping her from moving. She had a lot of experience with glyphs, especially with these kinds of glyphs. She murmured something to herself and her hands glowed a slight red as she knelt down and the glyph faded before disappearing, leaving the huntress who had cast the spell dumbfounded as she had never had anyone escape her glyphs before, not even the most trained and experienced glyph user had escaped, and that said something.

Red simply stood up and pulled a note out of her pocket, using her combat skirt to hide the exact placing of the pocket, as to avoid it being taken. She leant into another pocket, staring at the still dumbfounded huntress- who had heard the rumours as to Red's strange ways of communication. She scribbled a few words, before handing it to the huntress and stepping backwards, keeping her distance.

All the huntress did was nod and wave her hand for Ruby to follow, as the girl in red, a hood still covering her face, had complied to.

(^^^^^^)

The room was like an interrogation room, concealing the darkness that surrounded the pacing huntress and the seated Ruby, hood still covering her face, a single light dangling above them. The door slid open to reveal a slightly old man, grey hair dominating his swept back style, a can in his right hand and a plate of cookies in his other. He approached, calmly and carefully as he knew full well what she was capable of, and placed them on the desk in front of her, sitting a safe yet not too far distance away from her.

"Red, we would speak with you." The nervous huntress said, stopping the pacing she was doing and standing behind the old man, apparently afraid of whom she was, which made a small smirk come on Ruby's face. Red still said nothing, as she knew that talking to anyone except herself was not a good way to keep her oath.

"Yes, where did you learn to do this?" the man pointed to the huntress and addressed her as Glynda, now known to her, held a tablet, showing Ruby swiftly killing the men at Dust till Dawn earlier. "We know you can talk, I promise there is no one here except us. You are perfectly safe from the officials and police." The old man said, still sitting in his seat. She still said nothing, as a thoughtful smile crossed her face. "So you won't talk?"

As an indication, she shook her head, her hood waving slightly as she kept her eyes lowered away from his, as to not allow yet another way of the police recognizing her.

"Well, we'll ask you simple yes or no questions and you can shake or nod to give us an answer." She nodded again.

"Good, now have you ever considered becoming a huntress? We have heard the reports from the hunters and huntresses you have worked with, and you seem to be an excellent candidate." Glynda said, eliciting a slight nod in agreement from the old, still unknown man.

A small nod came from her, though she was still calm, not wavered by the question.

"Okay, so you have considered it. Tell me, do you know who I am?" the old man said.

Another small nod came, showing that she still wasn't going to talk. Or at least not yet. She had remembered her oath and there was one condition that she could talk to people. "I may talk, should I find the person worthy of my voice". She whispered this, only the now known Professor Ozpin hearing it, as she wanted.

"And you see me as worthy?" his grey eyebrow went upwards, arching in a way that only a confused child would do.

Ruby leaned in closer, causing the man to lean in as well. "You..." she whispered, turning her head slightly towards Glynda. "...But not her."

"I see, Glynda, leave us." At the words, Glynda noticeably went stiff, showing the concern in her body before she went to the door and walked through, closing it behind her.

"So, you know what I am, I presume?" she still did not take of her hood, keeping her identity a secret from him, even if she did already trust him. She had raised her voice, making it from a whisper to a normal voice. It was so soft and calm, one could have cuddled with the voice, snuggled up to it to keep one's self warm, but the only one who had done so was now dead, so she was reserving it for someone worthy of her voice, as she had stated earlier.

"Yes, Red. You are the perfect example of a team leader, a perfect huntress and you joining our academy would greatly benefit both you aand me." He said, matching her calm voice with his own.

"I see. So, what would benefit from me going?" she said, almost turning back to a whisper.

"First, you would get free reign to control your teammates as you would be leading them. Second..." he coughed slightly before continuing. "...You would get permission to miss out any classes you deem as pointless or otherwise a waste of time, though standard combat training is mandatory, even to you. "

"And...?"

"And, lastly, you would get a dorm to share with your team members. You will also get permission to engage in otherwise...unruly approaches. Such as...romantic conquests." He slightly stuttered, showing an example of his maturity as he tried to keep his face from blushing at the words. Ruby's face grew a frown, before turning to normal, although no changes to her face were visible past the hood.

"Okay then. Two questions for you: why the romantic...conquests allowed?" she had said it with such a calm voice that it almost made the professor seem calmed as well from the rather embarrassing speech he had done.

"Well, as you are a small person, but we do not know your age for sure, we assume you have suffered a great deal of loss from the past. So you have been allowed to fill that gap if you wish."

The second is more of a friendly request that you inform all students of: My cape and the hood is out of bounds. Anyone touches it and they end up hospitalised. Also, I request permission to hunt in the nearby forests for Grimm, as I cannot go hunting for society's more...unwanted characters." This warranted a nod from the professor. "Lastly, I request that I get the training grounds free every night from 12 to 4." This did not go well with the professor as he hadn't ever allowed any student, no matter her they were, this request.

"May I ask for what reason?" he asked, clearly a quizzical tone to his voice.

"No, you may not." coming along too harshly, she quickly added: "it is a personal matter, and I may tell you later in time, or until you figure it out for yourself."

"I respect your privacy. Now, one last question from me, and them we shall embark for the academy." He coughed again, though softer than the last one. "What shall we present you as? All new students, once they are in teams, will have their names presented to the entire first year."

"Red." Was all he got from her.

"Okay then, Red. I will lead you to the academy tomorrow. Meet me at these co-ordinates." He placed her some sheets of paper, as she instinctively looked towards the clock, still her calm expression and body language not wavering.

"I would rather just follow you now. The sun is rising and I will most likely be seen in the city at daytime."

"As you wish" he said, standing up, with the help of his cane, "Follow me."

He led her out of the room, pointing for her to enter the awaiting airship.

She entered, not knowing that her days and routine would be changed forever...

**(^^^^^^)**

**A/N: sorry if it's a bit confusing, but I got this idea- strangely enough in a dream- and threw it together.**

**Leave comments, ideas and reviews.**


	2. dark heart, soft minds: part 2

"Attention, passengers: We've arrived at Beacon." The pilot was the sort to be too friendly, but, with friendliness as a prerogative, he doesn't have much of a choice, otherwise he would be- quite literally- throwing people out of the ship before it even landed. The ship slowed as it approached the school, allowing students to gawk at the exceptional- no, amazing- view. Ruby couldn't help but stare at how far down the academy of Signal had been, and how it paled in comparison to the oversized, over used and over protected academy of Beacon. She could easily slip in, slaughter everyone who has ever sinned against the world, drain them dry and leave before ever being seen or heard of. now that last thought of draining each and every one of those stupid, unwitting students- and even teachers- made her mouth dribble with saliva and her stomach grown for the hunger she had evacuated, but not been ridden of, years ago.

"Well, time to blend in." She had whispered it, trying her best to be unheard. Her red cloak flowed behind her as she slowly walked past the gawking and distracted students. These students were so distracted that they hadn't even seen the vigilante/ murderer walk right past them, Crescent Rose packed up and swinging slightly from her hip as she did so. She walked over to the window in a shaded part of the ship, sitting down in one of the chairs and placed her feet on the other.

Red then saw something she had wished she didn't; her sister. Yang hadn't seen her in her corner, and just stared out at the giant towers and spires of Beacon academy. The way they twirled slightly at the tips, or the way the metal- rock compound it was made of contrasted with the massive marble statue in the front of the courtyard of the school. It was a sight to behold, and she couldn't help but think to herself of the number of possibilities she could do.

Then she heard a voice. It was, as a result, very startling to her, but she showed no sign of it. "Hey! Can you tell me where you got that cloak and hood? It looks just like..." Red turned to Yang, staring at her with her hood raised over her complex and yet smooth face, her chin and part of her mouth being the only things visible to the now stuttering blonde, who was staring at her before finishing her sentence. "...Red's." her eyes shone with lilac fear, but was quickly dispersed and replaced with love once she heard the voice of the hood wearer.

"Hello, Yang." She raised her voice slightly form her usual whispered tone, raising it to a slight normal voice. She had not wanted her sister to know she was the murderer, as Yang had thought her adoptive sister, Ruby, was on a hiking trip with her uncle Qrow. Red walked past her, brushing Yang's shoulder with her's, trying to give Yang a hint as to who it was. She used to do this all the time; brushing her sister as she walked past her; though most of the time it was to annoy Yang, which it always seemed to do.

Yang couldn't figure out how Red, the most infamous vigilante in the entire city of Vale, would know who she was. She was more perplexed as to how Red walked past her, mainly because only Ruby could do that, and knows it would annoy her.

This was going to be a very weird day.

(^^^^^^)

Ozpin just droned on about how none of the students that were there were worthy to be called hunters and huntresses until they proved themselves in tomorrow's initiation. Then he looked as if he were scared of something, and that something was in the crowd, a red cloak waving behind her as any student who even tried to engage her in a conversation was growled at, similarly to how a beowolf growls before attacking. She wasn't a part beowolf or something, as that was impossible because Grimm had no souls, whereas humans did, and the two could not merge. Anyway, as Ozpin dismissed them all to the great hall of Beacon, Red stood still. Even after all the students had left, and the sun was setting over the trees in the horizon, she still stood, her face still covered by the crimson hood she wore. One student in particular had noticed this; Blake Belladonna. She was the only person to help the heiress from being almost slaughtered by Red during a... heated moment.

"What are you doing?" No answer. Blake didn't like being ignored, but she did like the quiet, so felt no less calm as Red, which was extremely. She made a mental note not to ask anything too pressing of the red clad woman in front of her, who just seemed oblivious to her surroundings.

After a minute of silence, Blake felt the calmness rush from Red and was replaced with annoyance, or anger. Which ever it was, she felt uneasy around her. "Can I at least talk to you?" After this, Red fumbled around in her pockets and pulled out a white sheet, a pencil and began scribbling.

She turned and walked to Blake, giving her the note and turned again, hoping she did not notice the tears staining her face from the silent sobbing she was engaged in.

_What do you want, Blake Belladonna?_

_If your answer is not one you think I would like, then walk of and don't talk to me until after initiation._

Her eyes darted across the page, reading every note. She was surprised at the fluidity of the note, as if she had spent a great deal of time practicing writing. "I see, well then, why are you out here?" she was cowering, but hoped the most notorious vigilante did not notice.

"You are brave, I will give you that." Red's voice was colder than ice; Even more so than Weiss of a snowy day. Red turned and took one moment to take in the sight of the slight shaking of Blake's shoulders as she could tell she was in fear of the red clad girl, hood still covering most of her face, leaving a menacing smile to be seen. "...Or maybe not. Please leave."

"N-No. I want to talk to you." Red's smile turned to a blank expressionless form. "I know who you are, so why are you acting as if everyone here is a victim in a little game of yours?"

"That is because most of you are." Red's abrupt answer worryingly calmed Blake, though at the same time made her uncomfortable around the young branded murderer. "I am only fifteen, and in such a short life, I have killed over 2,000 Grimm and over one thousand murderers, vandals and..." Red stopped making the girl feel saddened at the sudden thought of what she was about to say. "...Faunus." Blake noticed the chill travel up Red's back, causing the young woman's cloak to suddenly stop flowing and a dark coloured aura to course around her. She couldn't tell what colour it was, as the night shrouded nearly everything about Red.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come now, Belladonna. You of all people should know what I mean." Red said it almost demonically, though a hint of sadness could be heard in her voice. "I suggest you go to sleep, cat, and forget everything about this conversation unless I want to talk about it. Now goodnight, sleep tight, and don't let anyone bite." At that, Red vanished, leaving behind a flurry of rose petals around the general area she was.

"How did ... no. It is a slight possibility..." Blake continued these thoughts as she completely forgot about the book in her hands, and opened a page, reading as she walked back to the shared hall where everyone slept for the moment.

(^^^^^^)

The roses dissipated as she clutched her head in agony, right outside the Emerald Forest, where the initiation was to take place. She threw her hood off of her face and clutched her head again, this time with both hands and keeled over, as if she had been hit in the stomach. Her eyes were brilliant silver, brighter than the moon. Her face was adorned with scars, though none looked ugly. Lips as red as her namesake, hair as dark red as the blood she had spilled and her cheeks scarred. One such scar ran down from just below her right eye to her right cheek, from where a beowolf had actually managed to get through to her. It was a surprise attack, and she felt no pain as the claw destroyed her bone and sliced skin. Another scar was more noticeable; it ran from her left temple, down past her left eye and down to her jaw. She forgot how she got this one, no doubt from one of her many hunting outings with the countless bounty hunters employed to kill her, or the numerous times that hunters and huntresses had asked her for help, only to betray her at the end after seeing what she could do.

Her head banged as the thirst was killing her; if she got none of that rich nectar that coursed through someone's veins, she would die. She held in the pain and, in a flurry of rose petals, arrived at Vale's market area.

There were noticeable lanterns that lit the area, but she did not care to look around, she had to get to her base as soon as possible. She shot herself to her own door, opening it and slamming the door. She had to get to the vial on top of the table, and fast. She could feel the thirst taking a hold of her and sapping her energy.

"Vial...Damn vial." She grabbed the vial with her now shaking hand, and with one swift motion, she pulled the lid off and sucked the crimson juices from the glass bottle, emptying it. Her vigour quickly returned to her, filling her with a sense of filling.

"Well, best get back to Beacon." At that, she turned into a cloud of rose petals, disappearing from the now empty room.

(^^^^^^)

**Blake's P.O.V...**

My book was nothing special; the fact that it was about a man with two souls fighting for control over his body was not as boring as it sounds, though. That girl kept coming into my head; Red. What kind of name is that, anyways? Oh well, I should probably get to sleep.

Just as I reached for the candle to darken the room, I saw the sight of what I thought was an angel; but the red cloak following such a form proved me otherwise. I knew she only fought for good, but she was still a murderer.

"Oh my god..." I gasped as I saw the scars that covered her child-like form. One covered her forearm completely; another on her right shoulder, trailing down the chest that was, of course, covered by beowolf pyjamas. The last was the most shocking; one reached from her neck, following it around her jugular- as if it had been slit by a beowolf- and curled around her collar bone. No one could survive that; this girl was a complete impossibility.

"It is not nice to stare, Belladonna." Before I could even blink, she was next to me, staring down at me with those demonic eyes- which I still couldn't see as her hood was still blocking her face.

"H-How... what has happened to you?" I made my point as to what I was referring to, and noticed her lips were a blood red- even more so than before. I just shrugged it off.

"These old things?" I had no idea how long she had these for but by calling them old, I guess she had them for a very long time. "Collections." The way she said it made my heart freeze. Then, I felt even colder as Weiss approached us from behind, her white hair was a dead give away.

"Red- that's right, I know who you are- I want to speak to you..." she looked at me with a scowl, and I felt paralysed to the spot. "Alone."

To my astonishment, Red just nodded, walking towards a window (bearing in mind that we are four stories above the ground) and perching herself upon it. "Meet me outside, now" Was all she said before she jumped out of the window.

"Did she just..." the only answer I could give Weiss was a "She did". I slammed my book shut, walking to the window and looking down, hoping to see a blood smear on the floor below us. Not even a splatter, or a drop. Then, the sight of crimson caught my eyes as I turned my vision to see Red sat on a bench, reading a book in her beowolf Pyjamas and her black denim jeans.

"How did she do ..." Weiss was fumbling for words, before huffing and walking towards the door to strut down the stairs and walk out of the building to talk to Red.

(^^^^^^)

**Red's P.O.V...**

Showing off wasn't usually what I did, but fun was fun. Even if I'm a heartless vigilante, fun is easy to come by. As I landed, I walked casually to the bench that sat next to a tree and flopped down, reading my book, 'The ways to kill vigilantes'. Of course, my name was there, though the answer next to it on how to kill me was short, sweet and straight to the point: "Don't bother. If you see her, shit yourself and run for the hills." Perfect advice giving.

After waiting for merely a minute for the ice princess to catch up, she came through the door opposite me, her eyes a brilliant blue. The gown she was in was clearly a thick one. This was evident as it barely flowed in the winter air. I just patted the spot next to me, never taking my eyes off of my book.

"Well..." I said, not once taking my eyes from the enticing and somewhat intriguing book about a man who was struggling to come to terms with the way a fictional land, called 'America' was turning into, and went on a murder spree with a sixteen year old girl, who pretended she was thrown out to get his trust. The book didn't end well, but that never bothered me, as I already knew what was going to happen. This never bothered me, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading books over and over again, just because I wanted to. "... What is it?"

"I wanted to talk to you about earlier. I knew who you were, and I wouldn't have said the thing s I did if I knew it was you." Mentally, I punched myself. I am sick of people being nice to me just because of what I do, not who I am. "I just wanted to say; I'm sorry and hope to see you in action tomorrow." At that, I heard her shiver, but never took my eyes from the book I was reading.

"I see. Accepted." What I did not say was that I was lonely and tired of playing the bitchy, calm and vicious murderer and just wanted someone to see me for me, instead of a vigilante who might sink her teeth into their neck and suck their blood dry.

"Oh, okay." She was clearly saddened, but I made a choice I could swear I would regret. Before she got up, I said; "You can stay here if you want. I am not forcing you."

"I almost face-palmed myself as Blake appeared, as always with her inquisitive nature and Weiss took this as an opportunity to leave.

"So... can I ask you a question, seeming as you seem friendlier than before?" Blake sat next to me, but I didn't even make a glance at her before continuing to read. "How did you know...?"

"That you are a Faunus? I've spent enough time around you lot to know who is what breed and where you come from. For example, Belladonna; you are a cat Faunus, but you were born into a human civilization, north of Dragon Wings." I mentally high fived my self as I saw the look of shock on her face. "I also know that you want to ask more questions." I took a look from the page I was reading to receive a nod form Blake before I continued talking. "Well, ask away."

"Wait what!?" her shock was replaced with a slight hint of glee. "Okay, then. Can I ask you what the scars are from?" at this, my aura flared black; I could tell it was black as the white snow hitting off of it gave it away. My aura was only black when two things happened: I remembered something that made me angry, or I saw something that made me angry.

I instantly regretted allowing her to ask questions, but my nature of sadness inside finally exposed its self.

Then, before me, was the memory I had locked away... or thought I did...

**A/N: Hope you all saw the 'God Bless America' reference. If not, go watch that film.**


	3. The start of RWBY

Cold had always been a friend to her, yet she still felt it. The cold had saved her life many times; one being the most traumatising time ever. It was this time, this single time; she had witnessed her parents, her friends and her boyfriend die, right in front of her. He always made her feel so calm, collective, and was the one to teach her martial arts. She hadn't practiced martial arts for a very long time, considering the fact that she favoured her Crescent Rose more than it, but never hesitated to use the arts if she was caught unawares or with her guard down.

Whatever he made her feel, or the way he influenced her growing hatred to cease, was long gone; along with her mother. Her mother and she had come from a long line of hunters, but everyone in her family was sociable and friendly. She and her mother were not. They were heroes, even with Ruby being the age she was. Her mother was always solitary after her husband- Ruby's father- died. No one knew his name, except for Ruby and Summer, but they had felt a need to release their anger and hate on the world, and that scared them; hence the solitude. The first and only form of contact Ruby had with the outside world was a polite young boy who had happened to stumble upon her home when she was ten, and as she was about to kill him, something happened; electricity flew through the air as they stared into each other's eyes, searching for something, and a few weeks later, they found it. It was to be a short, but very emotional relationship.

She was always happy around him, and her mother approved as it would make her a better person, but she had not seen the amount of a better person she had become. When she was arrogant and rude, she became happier and talkative. When she usually ignored, she listened. He was, as a result, her complete opposite, and he changed her for the better.

(^^^^^^)

Blake just stared into the young woman's hood, not being able to see her face. The way she had just stared at nothingness as she remembered her memory of him brought a tear to Red's eye, as could be seen form Blake, who decided it would probably get her killed if she ever mentioned she had seen her cry or even shed a tear.

She got up, not noticing the woman still stare at nothingness as she continued her memory. Blake walked to the door, not wanting to annoy the reminiscing vigilante as she may become a victim, and so left.

(^^^^^^)

"Hey, what are we going to do today?" the young Ruby Rose stalked over to her mother, Summer, and immediately sat down, watching the rose petals swirl around her as she had used her semblance for the billionth time.

"You're happy, aren't you? What did he do this time?" Ruby had a look of pure reverence as she remembered what he had done that previous time. He was walking to the store on the other side of Vale, when a monster attacked her and him. He quickly killed the beast by simply punching it in the head- with his aura infused fist, of course- killing it and destroying the foul ursa's head. She told her mother what he did, with every detail of what had transpired afterwards, leaving nothing out. She was about to continue to tell her about how he kissed her that day, when the smell of smoke caught her nose. She sniffed, and took a whiff of the air. There was fire.

"What is it Ruby? It always makes me feel strange when you do that."

The abrupt door opening and shutting, followed by a bar being placed over the handle, effectively stopping the smoke smell and whatever was on the other side of the door coming in. He stood there, his emerald eyes staring at the girl in front of him and her mother. His usually neat and windswept-style hair was matted, the red streak he had there now black. The area on top of his head contained a small set of Faunus bull ears and twitched every so often. His mouth had opened, allowing air to travel in and out, letting him catch his breath.

"Ruby, thank god you're okay!" he ran over, the other girl meeting him halfway as her mother just stared and rolled her eyes at the sight of them embracing before checking each other for injuries. His sword and sheath, Wilt and Blush, swung at his side with blood soaked on them. though he preferred to use his martial arts- the same he had taught Ruby, much to the displeasure of his father, who wanted to keep it a family secret- at close range, he would often use his sword if it required it, and something definitely required it.

"Adam, I smelled fire. What's going on?" Ruby wasn't in fear, as that feeling abandoned her and Summer ages ago. His ear twitched again, causing her to start worrying about him. "Adam, what happened?" her voice was a bit sterner now, making him and Summer both know what that means; it means she would take no lies, and if he did ever lie, she would slap him around the room.

"The village is being attacked by beowolves and Ursa! We have to leave!" He was cut off with a rather abrupt "NO!" from Ruby, who smashed through the door and used her semblance to sprint off to the burning village, smoke trails travelling up to the sky, billowing from the burning haystacks and smouldering homes. Beowolves were all over that area, though none of them expected a scythe-wielding ten year old to disrupt their hunt. As she slashed at them, sidestepping and using her gun attachment to knock the head off of a beowolf, slicing an Ursa and slipping off of the entrails that came from it; though the guts were never a problem for her, the heart was always what she slipped on, causing her to crash to the ground.

Summer just laughed and was about to join her daughter in killing the Grimm, when a hand reached out and stopped her; it was Adam's father. "Summer, I need to talk to you. I know this not the time nor place, but it is important." He gave a nod to Adam, signalling for him to help the young Ruby out. Summer turned to face him as he raised his sword and swung it over his back as he talked. "It's about Adam and Ruby."

Summer sighed. "What is it? She's happier because of him, and that boy has learned to kill effectively as well as wield something other than his sword." She sighed again.

"It is not that." He reached down into his pocket with his other hand and brought out a small orb-shaped package. "Give this to her, say it is from Adam."

"Why?" her eyebrow raised in an arc of curiosity.

"He will die, and she needs something to set her on the right path. I have seen it." He always did have that strange gift of being able to see in the future, which was a semblance that had travelled through his entire generation, except for Adam, who inherited his family's calmer semblance of quick speed.

"What do you mean he will die? You didn't see her after her father's death, and he was everything to that girl." She took the orb, however, and placed it in her pocket. "she will become something that will scare even the most fearsome of Grimm and the bravest of hunters."

"However, I will also die." He looked sad. "Please heed my warning: let her go and give her the gem. All will be revealed." He turned his face to the boy and girl, saving each other from the surrounding Grimm." It looks like she..."

Just as he said that, Ruby flared red and shot around, slicing everything up. If Adam was watching, he would have stood and watched in awe. "...Never mind. Go and help them, my time has come." At that, he raised his sword and performed seppuku. As his last moments arrived as the sword entered his gut, he looked up and saw nothing but sadness in Summer's eyes as she said "I'm sorry." She dashed off, helping the two fighting in the area.

"Mother, look out!" As Summer was fighting the Grimm, one got behind her. as the body parts flew left and right, flying off into the distance, she felt a sharp scream come from her young daughter. As she turned to see the commotion, she felt something stick into her lower abdomen. "Mother!" that was what she heard as she collapsed to the ground and her vision became a blur. She remembered what mister Taurus had said and pulled out the orb. "Adam, no!" her mother leaned her head sideways, watching as Ruby had cried for the first time as both the ones she loved were injured. Ruby dashed around, killing every single Grimm in the immediate are as she walked over to her mother first, leaning down. It was then she had seen that something was placed down next to her by Ruby: it was Adam.

"mother..."

"It's okay Ruby. I'm fine. Dying's not so bad anyway. Here take this; to remember me by." She lifted the orb, giving it to a teary eyed Ruby. "be careful little Rose. I'll always watch you." At that, Summer passed away peacefully. Even as it was peaceful and Ruby felt good about that, she heard a cough coming from Adam

"Ruby..." he said weakly as a spatter of blood drenched his thin trench coat. As she inched closer to the twelve year old, she felt a sudden feeling come over her; sadness.

"Adam... what do I do?" she was now drenched in a thin liquid coming from her eyes and, at first, she thought she was bleeding.

"Nothing, Ruby, you just remember..." he coughed more violently as the last one he had done. "... Just remember that I loved you with all my heart. I know what Summer gave you..." he coughed again, making his body shake as blood splattered on his hand he raised over his mouth in a futile move to stop the blood form hitting Ruby's crimson red combat dress her mother had gotten her for her eighth birthday.

"Adam, please hold on." She was crying now as he slowly slipped from reality. His hand glowed orange as he placed it on Ruby's strange wrapped orb.

"Place it at your heart. This is where I'll always be." At that, his aura faded into the orb and with his last dying words he said, "I Love you, Ruby." Them he passed on, and the young and kind Ruby that only existed for a few weeks vanished. Not even her old self was present as something more sinister took over, something that Adam's father had feared would emerge; hate for everything and everyone who did not obey her or her rules, which, coincidently, were the same as the Vale laws. She did as Adam had commanded, and placed the orb at her heart, only to feel nothing there. The orb granted her the knowledge of how to fight as Adam did with hand- to-hand combat. She felt the knowledge course through her and then empty from the orb into her. It was now useless, yet she kept it wrapped in a velvet sheet she tore from Adam's trench coat, placing it next to her as she believed he would watch over her as she slept, and kept it in her pocket, carrying it with her everywhere she went.

She buried them the next day as Yang, her new adoptive sister, came to retrieve her and take her home, only to be ditched by Ruby the next week so Ruby could go out and avenge all those who had suffered as she did, and took the only exceptions as those who she was certain wouldn't cause any more trouble.

(^^^^^^)

She shook her head as the memory ended and wiped the tears from her eyes under her hood, before reading her book as if nothing had ever happened.

Blake watched the vigilante's subtle change from sadness back to emptiness, and sighed as she thought she could find a reason as to why Red did what she did, but to no avail. "Oh, well."

But, no one saw the other figure watching the red woman form his office, and, much to his surprise, Red looked up at him from her book, as if she could see him from six stories up. Ozpin felt curious as to why she was crying in the first place, but felt it was none of his business and continued with his coffee- sipping and walked back to his desk, continuing his work...

(^^^^^^)

All students were stood outside, the cold air from last night blasting against them as they stood there; most shivering from their podium- like springs they were on. Red however scoffed at the sight of weakness form the others. Ozpin then spoke up and swung his cane around, hitting it off the floor as he got everyone's attention. He then started talking about what the initiation ritual would be, telling them that there were Grimm in the forest, but they needed to reach the temple on the other side of the forest to retrieve an artefact, then to carry it back up the cliff. This was simple child's play for Ruby, but for the others; not so much. That Jaune kid was stood next to her, shaking not from the cold, but fear. She felt neither and stood as still as a brick before the springs started to activate, sending everyone up in the air, one by one. When it came to Red, she just stood there, causing Ozpin to stare in amusement as she was launched in the air. Her arms didn't even flail around as she just remained as stiff as she was before the spring shot her up.

Jaune was the last, and was shot up, arms flailing and screaming at the top of his lungs at what sounded like an unfinished sentence. Yang was first to land, rolling as she hit the ground before declaring "Nailed it!" and sprinting off in an unknown direction.

Red was second, landing on her legs, seemingly taking no damage as she stood up from the forced crouching position and brushed the dirt off from her combat skirt before casually- well, as casual as a scythe-wielding vigilante with a penchant for killing and martial arts and a dark past can do- walking off towards the temple ruins she had spotted as she was flung into the air.

Ozpin was watching with amazement as he watched each one's landings, until he spotted Red's, and was truly stupefied. That landing should have reduced any man, woman or child to nothing nut slush of blood and decayed entrails. He watched as she just walked as if nothing had even happened or as if she wasn't in a Grimm infested forest. Glynda saw the landing as well, and stood as still as Red was when she was launched, in amazement and curiosity. People couldn't survive that, but from what she read about Red- which wasn't a lot. In fact, it was barely anything- she could tell this girl had survived more than anyone could have gone through.

Jaune was stuck to a tree by Pyrrha's javelin- rifle, which was thrown an incredible distance by the young Spartan- like woman. Blake was the only one to land with any grace at all, using her ribbon to swing around the tree trunks and land like a cat would on her legs. The only thing that was on her mind as she started to race through the forest was what had transpired last night, and why Red showed not even a flinch as she was launched up in the air. "Curios..." Blake was speaking aloud as she ran through the woods.

Near the other side of the forest, Weiss had just landed right behind a walking Red, not wanting to try and annoy the woman, or become her partner, for that matter. As Weiss walked on the ground, a twig snapped from under her feet, and she cursed herself. "About time you made a noise. I thought you had gotten eaten." She then turned, and remembered the rule about team mates. To become her team mate, she had to lift off the hood, expose herself for the first time on near 5 years. "Do you want to become my team mate or not?"

This made a small sigh emit form Weiss as she shook her head. "Good, now leave me alone. The Ursa surrounding us won't wait forever for you to leave, so go." Weiss looked dumbfounded at the information she had received. She was very sure that Red couldn't take on a group of Ursa by herself, but also didn't want to get in the way of Red's murderous- or at least she assumed murderous- rampage. "Still won't go? Fine, don't get in the way."

Weiss leaned up against a tree as Red unsheathed Crescent Rose, and gasped at the sheer size of the weapon. The rumours about the weapon were certainly NOT rumours at all, but in fact... well...facts. The first Ursa jumped out at her, and before it could even land on the grassy brush, it was chopped in half. Another jumped out, and was shot in the head by the antimatter part of the scythe, its head crumbling to the ground. There were only two of them, and that display was all Weiss needed to know that Red wasn't exaggerated in her legends around a campfire, or her stories that people spoke of for fun and to scare the stupid.

"Well, if you'll stop gawping. I guess we better find you a team mate." Red spoke, breaking the woman of her thoughts as to how such a small person could manoeuvre a weapon of that size like a child.

Red just laughed as another one came at her, and with one palm strike, she had killed the beast, destroying its belly, making its organs and blood fly everywhere. She just laughed again, more demonically than she had done previously. This scared Weiss shitless.

(^^^^^^)

Five minutes later, they arrived at the area where the relics were being held, and Weiss grabbed the horse. _Chess pieces, really Ozpin? Wow._ As Red was thinking to why he chose the chess pieces as the relics, she heard a scream, followed by Jaune flying into a tree and getting stuck in the branches, hanging upside down as Pyrrha landed a successful dodge from a deathstalker.

Yang finally speaks up from her position. "Did she just run here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Duh, captain obvious. "I..." was all Blake could get out for an answer.

As that was all going on, Nora- a bubbly young, orange haired woman with her companion called Ren- charged through on an Ursa, killing it as Nora smashed the hammer into the beast, killing it.

Blake was the one to question what she had just seen happen next. "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?" this was followed by Yang's answer. "I..."

As she was about to continue answering, Weiss fell from the sky, causing Red to look up ever so slightly, and then scoff at the woman's way of entrance. Jaune saw her fall and jumped at the chance to save the girl from certain death. "Just... Dropping in?" Really... Really Jaune? Cheesy. Reality closed on them both as they went from slow motion to almost cartoon looking falling. As they landed, Nora shot off from the dead Ursa, leaving a distorted Ren to try and look for the young girl, before finally coming to collapse from exhaustion next to the girls. Red didn't even notice him as she had her heart for another, be him dead or somehow alive. As Pyrrha was launched through the air and landed next to everyone, Yang took it as her opportunity to make a snarky comment. "Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together."

All Red did was let out a huff of annoyance as she turned into a cloud of rose petals and appeared next to the approaching Deathstalker. With one swing, she chopped off one of its legs, causing it to give off an ear blistering screech, making her spin around and run off to the others. "Move! Get to the cliff!" without hesitation everyone got up...well, except for Ren. He watched in awe as she put away her weapon, placing it in its sheath as she took a fighting stance of some sort of martial arts. He stood, awe struck by the girl as she waited for the beast to get closer before puncturing its armour with one simple array of palm strikes and punches, effectively sending the Deathstalker into a tree, making it dizzied.

She turned her head and finally saw him; Adam. He was stood behind Ren, but as she approached, she saw he was just a shade of his former self. Another hallucination, great, she thought as she walked off, leaving Ren to follow her to where the others were.

Just then, Red flicked out her headphones and placed them around her head under her hood, not exposing any part of her face. The music 'Red like roses' and its counterpart blasted through them. The headphones were so loud, Ren could tell she couldn't hear anything around her and just wanted to concentrate on herself and herself alone.

The nevermore that Red had spotted but nobody else did arrived. After an intense battle, Red killed it by charging up the cliff, using her aura and recoil from her gun blasts to bring the bird-like creature with her, chopping its head off as she arrived at the peak.

At this, her music ended, making Red remove the headphones and place them in her pocket. She walked off in the direction of the academy.

(^^^^^^)

"Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long, you all collected the horse pieces. You will now be known as team RWBY (pronounced RUBY), lead by Red." Weiss gasped as she thought the girl hadn't chosen a team mate. Ozpin then announced the rest of the teams: Jaune was one team leader of his team JNPR, which consisted of Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and him. The rest of the day went on as she had been given a time table by Ozpin, which was specially modified as Red could leave any class, at any time without any reason, or at least, without any reason Weiss was aware of.

Just the thought of sharing a room with a bunch of idiots who could barely fight- and even worse; her sister- had made her tense up a bit. As she approached the dorm, she and Weiss, followed by Blake and Yang could see the room was large enough to accommodate them all, if they made bunk beds. Much to the heiress' disapproval, Red made the beds anyway, using a piece of curtain to hold up the bed she had made her own and quietly slipped in, still wearing her hood and sitting with her legs crossed, eyes closed and the only thought present was of Adam. She stayed like that for some time, remembering the times they had shared in their previous and brief relationship. She then winced as the memory of him dying came to her head and something very rare happened; she started to sob. Very silently, of course, as not to make her seem weak, but the tears still slid down her face anyway.

Everyone noticed this, and watched for a while before learning to ignore it and continue with their daily things to do. The first class they had to attend was weapons maintenance, one Red would be perfect at as she practically made and designed Crescent Rose and taught herself its use. She treated her weapon as one might treat their child. She cleaned it regularly, stripped and cleaned each and every single apart- except for the insides, as she didn't want to destroy her "Sweetheart"- and put it back together in a matter of seconds. She hadn't done that in a while, so after her weekly meditation, she would do just that.

"Umm... Red?" Yang finally spoke up, bringing the girl from her meditation and back to the real world.

"What do you want?" she put an emphasis on 'you', making her feel guilty for something.

"I-I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk about anything. You've been sat there for almost three hours and have not said anything."

"I am always this quiet, so get used to it." She jumped down and stood a mere inches from Yang, making the older woman seem nervous. "Alright, Yang, shout everyone here, now."

Yang did as told and both Blake and Weiss stood in front of the red clad girl. "What do you want?" Weiss suddenly heard a growl come form the girl and felt bad for snapping as her and Blake were brought out of the bathroom by Blake. "S-Sorry, Red. What did you need?"

Red could get used to her ass getting smothered in kisses by the heiress. "I need to make rules. Blake..." she turned her head to the cat Faunus, who was standing with her notebook in her left hadn and completely still. "Make a note of this would you?" Red was somewhat nicer to the cat Faunus,, which made Blake feel better about her being their leader and ordering her around.

Red took a breath. "Firstly, no interrupting my three hour meditation. Second, no interrupting Blake's reading and Weiss' combat training or studying." She took another breath, but it was slightly hitched as she thought of the last two. "Thirdly, if I catch anyone in the bathroom at night time with out a valid reason, will be left with a... nasty reminder. "Lastly, lights go out at 11pm, but candle light is allowed until 1 am. Another thing is that if anyone tries to make any unwanted advances, at least without my knowledge, on each other, shall be immediately punished. If I catch any reports of rape or sexual assault or harassment, I shall not be happy. Anything else, however is allowed. As long as it is not too severe. "She grimaced as the thought of Adam came to her, and dismissed the other three, running to the bathroom and locking herself in there.

"Go away Adam..." she shouted as seh clutched her head in pain. "I fed not too long ago, so why do I feel as bad as when I don't feed?"

What she didn't notice, were the people stood outside, listening to her conversation with her self.

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: this was one of the most draining chapters I've had to write. Special thanks to TehUnoMan for his support.**

**If you couldn't guess already( not that itr wasn't obvious or anything) Ruby was in a relationship with Adam Taurus and has constant daydreams and visions of him. **

**Next chapter: Ruby continues to see Adam and later has a nightmare... Well, maybe.**


	4. a ruined time

**A/N: I'm listening to one of my reviewers and will change a lot of things up in the next chapter. This one's a very dark chapter. Ruby gets cruel; she goes out late at night with Weiss, sets a load of 'challenges', a truth is revealed and a... fight? **

"_Whether you want it to or not, the past resurfaces. But sometimes for the better, you have yet to notice it."_

_-Me-_

**(^^^^^^)**

Mirrors are usually a reflection of one's self, but when a certain redheaded girl who goes by the name Ruby looks at it, she only sees a monster. She has tried to keep it from everyone; hell, even her own mother didn't know for a while. She had eventually figured it out, but did not even care. She had Ruby, Ruby had her, and that was that. Now Summer was gone, however, and so was Adam, she couldn't bare it. Her thirst somehow became stronger, her appearance still the same but her soul forever changed. She flung her head downwards, wanting to forget the looks on Adam and her own mother's faces as they passed. She knew Blake could hear her sobbing, even through the walls, and was sure the other two would be pinned right up against the wall to the dorm's bathroom, sat and staring at the fragmented pieces of mirror scattered around the floor, which she had done by placing her fist firmly into her own reflection, denting the wall behind it as well. she took a gulp of one of her vials she had hidden at the top cupboards, just out of the reach Yang, Blake and Weiss. She drank it, feeling her head throb as she did so, smashing against the walls of her ears and brain. The blood cooled the headache, quelling it. For how long though, she did not know.

Adam had accepted her strange diet of blood and cookies, even going so far to kill a couple of people for her. she loved it. He even went behind his father's back to rob a dust train for the reasonable- back then, anyway- white fang.

Her head hurt as she thought of Adam...

"Red, what's going on?" it was Blake. Wait, someone actually cared? No, no one cared, no one would care. It was a charade.

Red burst through the door, splintering it and sitting next to the bed she had claimed, swiftly jumping on and sitting with her legs crossed. She was not meditating, but was remembering a fairly happy memory, which was rudely interrupted by none other than Blake.

"Can I ask a question?" Red just stared daggers at her, hoping it would deter the inquisitive- as always- Blake. It didn't. But she kept in mind that this was probably due to the hood obscuring her face.

"What's with the hood? No one sees your face and it kind of un-nerves everyone around you..." Blake trailed off until she found the answer herself,"... Wait; that's what you want isn't it?"

Finally, the penny drops. Red just shook her head, as if to say 'well duh, idiot. A five year old could see that'.

"One more question..." Red gave a sigh, just staring at the cat Faunus. "What was that thing you were drinking in the bathroom? I could hear you drinking, like your life depended on it or something..."

"None of your business, that's what it was. I will never tell you or anyone unless you actually find out what it is, but once you do, I will kill you and eat your heart with my bare hands." She noticed Blake frown and gulp at the answer.

Blake just nodded, not wanting to annoy the red- clad girl, still stood, lest one of her threats actually come true. She didn't believe it though, and questioned her. "You won't do any of that." She said it confidently. BIG mistake.

"Is that so? Well, let me show you something..." she pulled out her scroll and flicked to the news channel, showing Blake an image of what had happened just two nights ago. "That poor fool questioned me as a vigilante, and then tried to rape me..." she flicked to another image, showing a picture of a beheaded man, a spike through his torso with a rose carved into his chest, his heart was missing. Blake gasped, knowing that Red had actually eaten a heart or, at least, it appeared that she did. "do not ever question me again, understood?"

Blake's answer was a simple nod.

"Answer, Blake." This was the most demanding order, which came as the cold retort for Blake's stupidly weak nod.

"I-I understand." She said it almost falling sick at the image Red had shown her. Red just stared and sat down, looking at the clock.

"4:30 pm. It's late." She turned to a wondering- once again- Blake. "I'm going to sleep. If you so much as touch me, I'll rip of your ribs and use them as drumsticks." She quickly lay down, her hood and cloak still on, not wanting to show the world what she looked like. Just yet, anyway.

(^^^^^^)

Ruby had that dream again, the one with Adam. It was awful. Many of her 'dreams' were absolutely scarring. If anyone would have found a way into her dreams, they would have been so warped that they would shrivel up on the ground, curl up in a ball and die.

Ruby's dream tonight was no different than what she had for the past five years since her mother's and Adam's... untimely death.

(^^^^^^)

"Hello!" Yang sang in her stupidly chipper voice. Weiss just face palmed herself as she spotted the girl sleeping above her own bunk, and sighed. If Yang woke her, she would pay for it first.

"Yang, shut up." Blake whispered, looking from the redhead- who was clearly having a nightmare- to Yang.

"How long she been asleep?" Yang whispered as she walked over next to Blake, and sat down.

"Since, round about 4 in the afternoon. Whatever you do, don't wake her."

"Since 4?" Weiss finally spoke up, causing the other two to stare at her, as if Weiss actually cared about Red. "What time is it now?"

Blake looked up at the clock that resided next to Red's bed. "10pm."

Red broke the silence that loomed around the room when she whimpered. Clearly the nightmare was one that was horrifying, or Red would not cower in it.

Blake and Yang heard one word come from her lips, still not able to see her face...

"Adam..."

(^^^^^^)

She was walking through the very familiar woods; the ones outside her village, the ones she and Adam would go into and hunt Grimm, occasionally getting sidetracked with more... romantic things.

Dark shadows leapt at her, but she remained still, about to use her semblance at the last minute and appear above the looming creatures masked by the dark. But she never got the chance, as she watched as a sword cleaved through them all, slicing through the monster's guts. Once the blood and torsos had hit the ground, she could finally see the person holding the sword.

She walked closer, as if she had no will and was forced to. As she closed on the character, she saw... Adam.

"Adam..." she whispered, but in the real world, where she was lain down in her bed, it was louder than that.

"Ruby, I've missed you."Adam had one expression he would only ever show in front of her; sadness.

Tears welled up in Ruby's eyes. She ran towards the boy, him catching her in an embrace, only to fall to the ground, bleeding form an unhindered wound.

"Adam, no not again..."

"Be strong Ruby. You will see me again."

"No, don't leave me again... please."

Then, the only sound that could be heard through out the wood was the short and silent- though not inaudible- sobs.

(^^^^^^)

"Adam no, not again..." the words shook all of the remaining team mates, making them finally understand why Red was so cold. She was pushing everyone away from her.

"Is-Is she having a nightmare?" Yang whispered, almost silent.

"L-Looks like it." Weiss said, wondering what she was crying about in her sleep.

"What could make a stone cold vigilante break down in her sleep? It is understandable, considering the things she had done, but this Adam must've been special to her..." at that, everyone looked at Blake, curious as to what she was going on about and how she came up with that amazingly sharp observation. "...Or she just knew someone called Adam before she turned to a murderer. Who knows?"

"I know that you shouldn't listen to people who are hiding their own secrets." Red was awake, and her comment made the girls in the dorm jump back with fear, but Weiss remained strong. "I'm going out; it's early, so that means you should all get some sleep for tomorrow." She went over to the window, her hood still obscuring her face as she hefted Crescent Rose on her back and grabbed the orb Adam had given her- and her mother- and placed it in her pouch. "Follow me if you wish, but I'm just going to visit someone. That someone may answer your questions. That is, if you're up to a two mile hike up a cliff, then to the church in town, then witness some very gruesome things happen." She looked around the room, disgusted y no one's attempts to show their bravery and prove themselves worthy to their leader.

"Thought not, cowards. You cannot prove your worth to me if you show no loyalty to know each other." she turned her head, almost about out jump before a quiet and velvety soft voice stopped her.

"I'll come." Red turned around to see Weiss approaching her, Myrtenaster dangling from its sheath.

"Very well, Miss Schnee. I am ashamed of you all. At least Schnee shows some promise of loyalty and integrity." She noticed the others just stare at her, as if she had grown a second head. She turned her head to face Weiss. "Jump and use any means to survive the fall."

Weiss followed Red's gaze to the ground, seeing that she was six stories above. She didn't want to upset the girl any further than she already was, so she jumped, halfway down drawing her sword and using air- step to land softly on the ground.

Red visibly smiled, even under her hood. 'first challenge completed'. Without need to even follow, she jumped, falling six stories before landing on her feet, not even using her Crescent Rose to stifle the landing. Dust flew around her as she just stood there. Because Weiss couldn't see anything beyond the dust, she expected Red to die, but the dust cleared, and she saw the hooded woman stand up from a crouching position.

"How did you...?" she was cut off by Red.

"Keep up, Schnee." At that, Red used her semblance and disappeared into a cloud of rose petals. How Weiss was supposed to follow her, she had no clue, but used her intuition and followed the rose petals, using her air step to speed across to cover more ground.

"Second challenge completed." Red watched from the cliff she was perched on, following Weiss' movement. Where one might have faltered at this, she didn't, and just followed, staring at the sword which helped her move. '_I need to see if she can do that without her sword. Maybe tomorrow Blake and Yang will come as well; I need to speak to them all at once'._

_(^^^^^^)_

"All right students, who would like to verse Red?" at that, Glynda noticed no one even looked at her after she said that. It was combat training day, and Weiss was eager to see how Red could fight. She had waited patiently for someone who had a spine to step in and fight. She herself not wanting to, she slumped down in her chair as Red stood impatient.

"If no one volunteers in five seconds, Red will get to pick you herself, and you must fight her once she has picked."Glynda noticed Red becoming increasingly impatient.

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..." As she hit that number, the students could see she was serious. She hit the last two numbers and Red stepped forward, earning a nod of approval to choose who should fight her.

"Miss Goodwitch. Before I choose I have a simple request..." she saw Glynda's eyes open in realisation. She had never heard Red's voice, and it was heavenly and soft, yet stern and pained. "I wish to be able to choose entire teams to fight me."

A nod of approval was all she needed before she chose her team. "I choose teams CRDNL and JNPR."

Jaune looked distressed, Pyrrha was lost in thought on how to take down an unknown enemy, Nora wore her cheesy " I love the world and everyone in it " look, and Ren was visibly trembling. She glanced over to CRDNL, noticing Sky and Russell shake uncontrollably while Cardin and his other, more headstrong team member stand up and walk to the arena.

All of the teams eventually made it to the arena, and the whistle was blown.

"Fight!"

(^^^^^^)

**You know what to do: review, follow, favourite and even PM me. Questions will be answered as soon as possible, or in the next chapter's A/N's.**

**Also, I might not update for another couple of days, but not a week, that would be too long. Maybe the next five days. I know...**

**...School is a bitch.**


	5. What the hell?

Jaune looked distressed, Pyrrha was lost in thought on how to take down an unknown enemy, Nora wore her cheesy " I love the world and everyone in it " look, and Ren was visibly trembling. She glanced over to CRDNL, noticing Sky and Russell shake uncontrollably while Cardin and his other, more headstrong team member stand up and walk to the arena.

All of the teams eventually made it to the arena, and the whistle was blown.

"Fight!"

(^^^^^^)

Cardin took his usual fighting pose, forgetting who he was dealing with, while the rest of his team opted for a new stance, learning from their not yet made mistakes. Jaune looked as if he were going to have an aneurism if Red made any sudden movements, but got even more anxious and worried when she didn't even look up.

Pyrrha was thinking of her possible attack strategy, still wondering how to fight a person who had actually wanted to fight two groups of hunters in training. She looked as if lost in thought, which she was. Ren was increasingly calm, though in the inside he was shitting himself. She didn't even flinch when Glynda shouted that word to start the match. Nora just smiled and unsheathed Magnihild, shouting, breaking Pyrrha from her thoughts and charging at the red woman.

Red looked up ever so slightly before looking back down, slowing her breathing to the point where she thought she wasn't even doing that, and as Nora closed on her, she waited. Nora was there, finally swinging her weapon Red's head, only to hit a cloud of rose petals, then felt her flying backwards.

Red was stood a mere inch away from where she was previously; looking as though she had just been turned into a slow moving statue. Pyrrha saw what others did not, and contemplated- at last- how to carry her attack out. Pyrrha charged, Jaune seeing she had a plan and following. Red saw this and made a split second thought that was completely accurate. Pyrrha must've been the brains of the team, and the strategist. Jaune clearly didn't belong here, seeing that he was shaking from fear at just the sight of her. Though many students did that, so she just dismissed that last thought.

Pyrrha was preparing to throw her javelin (A/N: don't hate me because I forgot its name) at the girl's head to severely weaken her aura while Jaune was running at her, sword and shield out. As he reached her, he swung his sword for her midsection, but hit nothing but rose petals, and – just as Nora was- felt himself being launched across the room, hitting the wall opposite his team and was knocked unconscious due to the sheer force of the hit. Pyrrha took her throw, calculating where to hit the girl. The javeline flew through the air, edging closer, closer to Red's head, only to be stopped by a hand.

Her hand caught the javelin, the blade mere inches from her hood. She pulled it to her face and snapped it as if it were a twig, making Pyrrha throw her shield at Red while she charged at her. Glynda looked shocked- no one had ever snapped a weapon like it was rotting wood before. She saw Pyrrha charge at her, throwing her shield at Red's head while she did so.

Pyrrha just charged, but as the shield came to Red, she vanished; leaving behind nothing but a flurry of rose petals. Weiss looked amazed as she watched from the sidelines, trying to figure out how- after seeing the alertness and awareness the girl had, never mind the agility- how she gained scars. The Amazonian woman looked around, only to be hit in the back of the head, knocked unconscious.

"CHARGE!" Cardin wailed after his team mates, ordering them to charge and attack at the same time. As they reached her, Red didn't vanish, but instead opted for a more' show off' fighting plan; she stood still, ducking and weaving past all of Cardin's attacks and Dove's swings, while she took out Sky with a single punch, making him fly across the room and landing next to Jaune's still unconscious form. Russell, Cardin's head man, attacked her from behind, only to hit Dove on the head, knocking him out. Russell then felt a hit on his head, as he too fell unconscious. Ren just watched from the sidelines of the arena, amazed by the fact that Red hadn't even broken a sweat in the minute they were there he also noticed she hadn't brought out her weapon yet, but that was about to change. It only took a minute for Red to take out his entire team and most of Cardin's, leaving him and Cardin to fight her.

Cardin swung at her head, seeing that she couldn't block it or run away, but as it came into contact with Red, she brought up Crescent Rose, blocking the attack and leaving the entire team of RWBY, along with the entire auditorium watching the event breathless. Yang was visibly shaken; she had seen that scythe before, but it couldn't be her... could it?

Cardin then felt a blade pierce his armour, grazing his skin and knocking him backwards, sending him into a nearby pillar, cracking it. Ren was last to fight her, watching as he memorised her every move, knowing that if he had went for anything too direct, she would turn into a cloud of rose petals and attack from behind. He- and everyone else watched- stared at her as she walked over to him, sheathing Crescent Rose for later use and cleaning, as she hadn't done that in ages.

When she arrived, she asked a question which threw Ren and the entire crowd off balance. "Fists or weapons?" she saw the confused look in his eye before she sighed as Ren couldn't understand her question. "I will repeat again: would you fight me with hand- to- hand, or weapons?"

Ren answered after thinking for a second; she was a clear master with weapons, so his strength would be with hand-to-hand." Fists."

"Very well." At that, Red gently unsheathed her scythe and placed it on the ground, stroking it before looking up at Ren, standing again and taking her unusual fighting stance. Ren just brought out his extending guns and placed them on the ground rather abruptly. Once this was done, Ren took his fighting stance and swung at Red, who just grabbed his extended hand and pulled him in, twisting his wrist and rendering it useless as she palmed it with her hand, shocking the nerves. She then threw him across the room, but didn't anticipate him to recover instead of being knocked out like the rest. He stood up, brushing his green uniform with his free, useful hand and once he finished he grabbed the other, seeing it had no use. He elegantly charged at her, seeing her in her usual fighting stances while the rest of the room was silent with the students and Glynda, who were watching as Ren stood up form the potentially coma- inducing hit. Red just stood and watched as he charged and flung his fist at her. She grabbed it with her right hand, spinning it ever so slightly to dislocate Ren's hand and throwing him over her shoulder. He didn't even let out a whimper when he stood back up and relocated it. He must be accustomed to pain, impressive', she thought.

He went for the back of her head, only to feel his hand break, and finally he let out music to Red's ears; a cry of pain. She walked over to the now lying down Ren, grabbing his broken hand and used her aura to heal it. No one could heal a broken hand that fast, not even with aura. She then looked down to Ren, who was grabbing her hand and flipping her around, only to be thrown back on the floor. She didn't even pant out of tiredness.

"Do you yield?" the loud "Never" From Ren made Glynda nervous. "I see..." she grabbed his wrist, breaking it and healing it again. "Do. You. Yield?" every syllable was said with a commanding voice, thought what she was asking was for him to stop fighting as it would only get worse, and she didn't want to kill him, or anyone who was innocent of no crimes.

"Y-Yes." Ren was now on the brink of unconsciousness, dark swirls and dots blackening his vision.

"Match over! Red wins." Glynda finally caught her awareness and bearings, seeing that Ren was injured and the rest were unconscious.

Red just smiled and helped Ren up; for the reason she did so, she didn't know. She then walked past everyone who was waking up, calling for her team to follow her back to the dorm, Glynda not even worrying about the fact that she had been given permission to do so.

(^^^^^^)

"Blake, Weiss. I would ask you of something." Weiss was still sore from her midnight escapade with Red, hence the reason she didn't accept her offer to fight.

"Of course, what is it?" Blake said, putting her book down and standing up.

"Yes?" Weiss just followed her, asking why she was called over from her studying. The rules Red had made were clearly for them only, not for her.

"I... need help with a personal matter, and cannot do it alone." Red looked the same as she always did, her hood covered her face and her combat skirt covered the rest of her. "I understand that you may not want to accompany me, but you should be able to find what you so desperately seek about me."

Blake raised her voice in curiosity, wondering why Yang wasn't here, before remembering she had fallen asleep in class and was kept back for detention. "What is that?"

"Who I am, where I came from..." she took a breath before saying the last one. "Who Adam is. These are but a few answers you will get, following me tonight at 12:30 am will provide you with more." Weiss- to Red's chagrin - was the first to answer.

"I'll follow." She was eager to prove herself to the red clad woman in front of her, as she had heard her whisper to herself saying that they needed to show loyalty and prove themselves to her to gain her trust, and trust was a Schnee family favourite.

"Me too." Blake said, heading back to her bed after Red spoke to her.

"Good, I had expected as much. Go and catch some sleep." As Blake headed to her bed, she turned to Weiss. "Come with me, I wish to ask for something else."

Weiss followed, jumping out of the window as Red did. Once they landed, Red spoke up. "I realise that I have been a very demanding leader, but that is for a reason. If you wish to learn that reason, answer my question. And take heed, your answer could have dramatic effects in our team."

Once Red saw Weiss nod as a sign of acknowledgement, she continued. "Do you wish to learn everything about me, even if it places your life in my hands? Even if it means I can shape you to whatever I want and make you stronger? You will my tool to use, but at the same time, loyal and trustworthy, giving you strength." she saw the wonder in Weiss' eyes. "You have until we leave tonight to provide me with an answer."

At that, Red jumped, using her semblance to reach her dorm window and climb back through, walking over to her bed and meditating, the thoughts of Adam coursing through her head, then stopping at the most happy memory she had of him.

(^^^^^^)

12:30 arrived faster than any had anticipated, though the fact that Yang was back and collapsed on her bed means they wouldn't be disturbed or seen leaving.

"All right Red, we're both ready." They said in almost perfect unison, Barr the split second delay between their words.

"Good." She perched herself on the windowsill, ready to jump before remembering the deal she had struck with Weiss, and the secret deal she had struck with Blake when Weiss was asleep. "Miss Schnee. Do you have an answer?"

"I decline. I am sorry."

"Don't be. Miss Belladonna, your answer?" she said turning to the cat Faunus perched next to her.

"I accept." this was too abrupt for Red, as she had easily heard the hurriedness in this answer, and concluded it was well thought out before hand.

"Excellent. Miss Belladonna, leave your weapon at your bed and follow me. Miss Schnee, you do the same." Red could feel the stares of unbelievability from Weiss, but smiled to herself as Blake did so, without question or acknowledgement.

**(^^^^^^)**

**Blake's P.O.V...**

I did what I was told, already remembering the terms of Red's promise." Do as told and follow me without question, and I will make you great. You will feel no sorrow, no pain and only know my command and wishes." Those words played in my head over and over again as I placed Gambol Shroud down on the floor, next to my bed and returned to my perch next to Red. I had to admit, this girl- despite her age and status- was slightly cute, considering the scars I had seen and the Face I had not.

"Miss Schnee. You can stay here tonight and practise for the exam tomorrow. I have no need of your services tonight." Wait, Red just sounded sorry... her... sorry. How had that happened? One minute she was commanding us to leave our weapons and follow her blindly, the next she was telling Weiss she didn't need her and to prepare for the exam on Grimm tomorrow. This was strange, but also added to my questions to ask her later.

I followed her as she jumped out of the window, passing a furious Weiss as she grumbled and walked over to her bed and pulled out her Grimm study book. I looked down, out of the window to see where she was. Red was at the bottom, waiting for me to follow.

I had no idea how, but I jumped and used my semblance to project an after image, slowing me down until I landed next to her.

Little did I know she was lost in thought, tears streaming down her chin, which was all I could see: given the hood covering her face.

"Red?" I ask, wondering if she can hear me. As I asked, she snapped out of her dreaming and looked right at me before motioning for me to follow.

This made me even sorrier for the girl. I had no idea what she had been through.

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: thanks for reading. I understand there were some errors and typos, but I can truthfully say that Word spell check is a real bitch. I am not going to go through the story again and rectify it, so I can continue to give you guys' good and scary chapters. **

**A shout out to DravynLeCrux for his continued support and help. Thanks dude!**

**(Yes, I do realise a British guy saying dude is seriously un-cool, but no ne cares!)**


	6. two minds are better than one: Part 1

**Red's P.O.V...**

Walking felt... uncomfortable, to say the least. I only ever walked when I was alone, but never in the presence of people. There was something about this girl- Belladonna- that enchanted me to feel safe around her, though I felt no significant attraction to her. I never did hold a grudge or even dislike homosexuality- in fact; I applauded it as they were showing courage against the odds of what and how the public felt about it. I never felt any attraction to any girl except for the very few friends I had made, but somehow this particular girl, who was indeed a Faunus (Déjà vu, I know) enticed me to want to know more about her.

After a short walk- well, short for me, I could tell Blake was panting from exhaustion- and rested upon a bench halfway up the cliff we were walking to. I had yet to tell her the significance of this particular cliff, but if she is as skilled with perception as I think she is, she will figure it out.

She spoke first, a pant between each word. "Why... are we... going up there?" I pondered for a second, and stared blankly at the woman.

"Wait and see" was my reply, which I could tell she never liked, but that didn't bother me. Five years of hunting down criminals and righting wrongs with no help whatsoever made me what some would call a 'sadistic sociopath', but I am merely lonely and, as a result, cold and unwanted towards the population. I get sick and tired of the self righteous and indignant people running amuck the streets and towns around the world, doing as they please; for or against the law. Either way, they are all dead.

We walked for a bit longer until I reach the cliff, deep within forever fall forest; snow covering the ground and constant falling leaves. The name to this place was no lie, but no truth either, and I should know; this was where I used to live. I practically knew this place like the back of my hand, and yet, became lost within myself, the only thing I should know better than this place. Every two months I came here, though none knew why- if they even knew at all- and those who tried to follow were either killed by the beowolves guarding the cliff top, or by me.

We reached the top in a hurry, as I wanted to get this over with- especially with the company of a certain person. Blake just watched as I walked over to the cliff face, and kneeled down in front of the gravestone- plaque I had made for her; my mother. Next to it was a similar one, though not too different from mother's, albeit the exception of the engravings. Mother's said "Summer Rose, thus kindly I scatter", whereas the other's said "Loved by a Rose, remembered by a Rose." The words I had engraved upon it were cryptic, as I had the name of the owner written in a language only practised by a certain few scholars or very old and traditional historians.

I had no idea what this language even was; let alone how to write it or pronounce the words. That is, until I met Adam, whose family had known and learnt the language long forgotten for centuries. It was he who taught me, and after I had absorbed his aura and knowledge, I could practically sing word of my favourite songs, or even make up my own with the language.

After kneeling for about five minutes, I stood up, wiping a stray tear from my eye before moving over to the other plaque, kneeling as I did before.

(^^^^^^)

Blake looked visibly saddened and worried for the young vigilante, though she knew these feelings harboured something else, something she hadn't felt since he came along with her on that train heist five years ago.

She finally spoke up before Red moved over to the other plaque. "Red, who were these people?" her question was answered when Red ignored her and spoke to the grave, kneeling down as she had done with the first plaque- grave.

"I'm sorry Adam, I wasn't fast enough to save you." It was barely a whisper, but the Faunus could hear it as if she was saying it to her right in front of her, though in fact she was a couple of feet away. She heard a tinge of sadness in Red's voice as Red's breathing hitched slightly.

"I will always remember you Adam Taurus. Love you now and forever." Blake knew that name from somewhere, but where? She racked her brain, thinking of possible times, until she had come across the memory of that man who joined her on the train five years ago, and he said his name was... no, no way. It couldn't be him, could it?

"Red, do you want to talk about it?" Blake subconsciously said, then mentally slapped her as Red started to cry, silent but audible.

After a moment Red simply nodded, walking over to the bench that resided over the cliff face, staring over at the red eyes watching them before she sat down, stiffening up, her muscles tensing as Blake came and sat next to her.

She started the tale about how things went from peaceful and happy for her life to downright terrible, scarring and horrifying. Red considered herself the lowest person in society, as she had told Blake after the tale finished; making the woman shed a tear at the amount of detail the girl had put in.

"So, do you mind if I ask a question, before we head to the next place you wanted to go?" Red just gave Blake a cold nod.

Blake asked; "I think I figured out what it is you drink. Don't worry, I didn't go snooping, I just... deduced." Red was visibly unchanged by what she said, but mentally she smiled. She knew the girl had it in her, and she was going to change her for the better, to act as a companion; loyal and ready to carry out orders, though she wouldn't use brainwashing. She thought for a moment, pondering to let the girl continue, and nodded for her to do so.

"Its blood, isn't it?" Blake was almost monotone, her voice visibly void of emotion, as the inside was trembling uncontrollably.

"Yes. I suppose you would like to know why." Without a word, Blake just nodded. 2i'll give you the short version of the story then, shall I?"

"It was when I was four and I and... mother... would go and hunt baby beowolves. You see, when I was two I killed a beowolf- full grown, I might add- with my bare hands, and mother adored the sight so much, she brought me on every hunting trip she went on." Red stopped, remembering the time she did so to a beowolf, and saw the looks of surprise and adoration on her mother's face.

"Wow" was the only answer Red got from Blake.

" when I was born, I had a born ability of turning to rose petals and moving so fast, time stopped for me, allowing me to move from, say, here to vale in less than a second. People call these semblances, but a semblance is what your aura does, not something you're born with. I also had the ability to sense Grimm and another one is what my semblance is... I would rather not talk about it, and she wouldn't like that." Red said the last bit almost as a deranged person inside a mental institute would say. "Anyways, when I found out these gifts, I and my mother were unstoppable, and I was always destroying Grimm with my bare hands until I was six, then I forged my sweetheart, Crescent rose."

"Crescent Rose?" she had no idea what- or who- a crescent Rose was.

"My beautiful weapon; you know, "The bastardised scythe and antimatter rifle". She said that last part as if she had rehearsed the many times she heard other students comment on her "sweetheart". She took a breath, before continuing. "One day, when we were hunting, a bandit attacked my mother, and stabbed me through the chest. In a last minute attempt to live, I tore out his throat with my teeth, and the blood healed me, that was when I learned that, without blood, I couldn't survive. That would explain the times I almost died form sitting up, or the times I had to go to the hospital for eating human food for the first time." She took a breath, before continuing. "Maybe she'll tell you later on why I need it, if I let her." Blake just ignored what she was saying about "She" and "Letting her" and just focused on what she had said about blood and thought for a moment.

Blake's audible sigh and gasp from what she had just heard, and didn't believe for the slightest of what she had just heard. "I see you don't believe me." She sighed "well, to follow me you must believe me, but I do understand your confusion, so I'll show you." Red reached into her pocket, even as she had fed just this morning, she could already feel sick and her head was pounding, though she would never feed upon or near the tombs unless for emergencies. She pulled out a small vial of red liquid, which shook from side to side as red's hands were visibly shaking from the sudden withdrawal of the substance.

"Smell it. You'll see I'm not...Ah" Red clutched her head, keeling over in agony as she couldn't hold the pain back any more. She had been tortured, stabbed, shot and her bones were broken and yet, she never even whimpered, but this pain was internal, and it hurt like hell.

"Okay, stop joking..." Blake was watching as she thought it was just a joke or prank from the girl, but then she saw blood flow from Red's nose and eyes, though she couldn't see them behind the hood. "Red...?"

"V-Vial. The Vi-Vial." Blake grabbed the vial, giving it a sniff and the scent of blood hit her nostrils. She wafted the scent away and leaned down, giving the girl the vial, and watching as every last drop went from the glass bottle to her throat, and disappeared in a mere second. She smiled, feeling her strength come back to her. Had Blake not have been here, she would have surely died, and the other one would definitely not like that. She shook her head, standing up and sensing her headache was gone.

"I would have died if it were not from you, so thank you." Red said as calm and as nice as she could, failing in the second department and settling for the former.

"I thought you were just trying to scare me or something. I didn't know you drank blood, and needed to so it would keep you alive." She put emphasis on the last words. "How often do you need to...um, feed?"

"Once every month. Something was wrong with the blood I had this morning, as it was weak and didn't help." She pondered for a moment, and the last thing that came to her mind as she ticked off the possibilities and impossibilities, and finally setting it to her not calculating the right amount or not getting it from a healthy person. "Do not worry, I am not, what is it you people say, vampire? Any way, Blood sustains me, but this batch was weak." She thought to herself. 'Maybe I should go to Vale and hunt again? Sure, why not. I need the thrill anyways, not to mention the blood'.

Without notice, her and Blake went to Vale, Red leading them to the abandoned home she made her own.

Just as she opened the door, letting Blake follow and then closing it, locking it, a voice called to her, one she hadn't head since the death of Adam: "Tell her".

"No."Red whispered it out loud, clearly not aware of her surroundings or the group of people in her room, not adding Blake among them.

"You need to, or should I?"

"You are inside me, not the other way around. You stay where you are, and don't come out." She said it a bit louder, though the other people in her room, not facing her, didn't notice.

"I AM you, silly! By the way, did you notice the people in your home?"

This snapped Red out of her mental conversation, and back to reality, where Blake was stood in the shadows, and Red was eyeing the people rummaging through her stuff.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!?" the men rummaging around froze up, stopping and turning, and Red could see they were clearly in a uniform of some sorts, but she couldn't tell what kind.

"Ah, she finally arrives. Good, now we can talk. You interrupted my organization's plans, Red." That voice was clearly familiar, and as the figure stepped from the shadows, holding his cane, he stood still.

"Roman, I have no quarry with you. That was simply a job for money. I have no interest to get involved in your little operation." The calmness in her voice was piqued with anger at the people ransacking her house.

"Little?" he questioned her, and she didn't like being questioned. "This operation will create a new world and you say you're not interested in the slightest?"

Red shook her hooded head. "Not at all." She said calmly. "Though, if I ever find you in here again, or even suspect you being here, there will be hell to pay." She turned her head to Blake and motioned for her to come from the shadows. She stood next to Red, eyeing Roman up. "Now, why are you here and why were you rummaging around in my house?" Red said it calmly as ever.

"I was 'Rummaging' as you say to find where you were so we could talk. That was an impressive display you did, and I saw that night that your legends are quite true." He grabbed a cigar and struck it up, lighting it as he handed his cane to another member of his group. "I have a job for you."

"What is it? Spare no details or I'll have your guts strewn about the room for decoration. If I find this is a trap, I'll eat your flesh while you still breathe." She said it in such a fearsome and serious tone that Roman almost- quite literally- shit himself. He regained his emotional posture, staring at her.

"We need you to attack a dust train. Schnee dust company."

"I assume you'll leave the innocent passengers alive? If not, I'll kill you."

"On my honour, we will leave them alive. On to more pleasant news; you will be given a small squad to accompany you in..."

"No. I go alone or not at all. Now what is my payment for all of this?" she asked, seemingly calm, but completely interested.

"One million Lien."

"Deal. Now get out of my home."

As they left, Blake walked over to red, and asked her a question. "Are you really going to accept that deal from that scumbag?"

"That scumbag is an idiot if he thinks I'm going to do it without scoping him out first." Red sat down on a chair that resides in the small abandoned home of hers.

"May I accompany you? I have yet to see you in action." Blake was clearly curious.

"No; you stay at the dorm and revise for the upcoming exam we have at..." she checked the small, rounded clock that hung from her wall. "...11am, today. Get going." As Blake left, the voice in her head called again.

"Can't I just come out for at least two minutes?"

Red said "No".

"Please?" the voice inside her head that sounded exactly like her sounded childish as well.

"Ugh, fine." Red released her hold on her body, the Black aura surrounding her turning Red.

"Finally! Now, to see Yang..."

"Ruby, don't you dare. She is nothing to help us. She won't even accept you after the thing I did..." Red spoke through Ruby's head now.

"Oh, shut up. We need to let go of Adam and move forward with life. The vigilante stuff is rather fun, though. Did you feed yet?"

"Obviously, now go see her before I change my mind... I mean ours... Oh just go." Red sighed mentally, knowing she would never hear the end of it if Ruby- the polite part of her that was her semblance- was nice to others. All her plans gone to waste.

"Ruby?" Ruby stopped, talking to Red as she did so.

"Yup?"

"Don't tell Yang there are two of us. And what ever you do: don't tell anyone else other than Blake, what you feel and what is happening." Red sighed. "You remember the rules, don't you?"

"Yeah. Don't tell anyone who I am, and don't take the hood off."

"Red?"

"Yes Ruby?" Red was getting annoyed, and wanted to take control again, but held back as the other her was- quite obviously- bored and needed letting out for at least an hour or two.

Ruby thought for a moment, thankful that Red's connection with her- or her connection with Red- didn't go so far as to read minds. "Why do I have to not tell Yang and only Blake?

"Because she knew Adam." That got Ruby- the one in control- to give a loud "Oh".

"One more thing Ruby: Duck."

As she said that, a sword swung for her head...

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: confusing, I know. Just bare with me. **

**Sorry for any spelling errors, by the way. Microsoft word really does suck.**


	7. two minds are better than one: part 2

Just as the sword comes into contact with Ruby, she spins, grabbing the blade and pulling the user with her, killing him instantly when she drives a hand through his gut. She revelled in the man's eyes watering and flickering of life, before he fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

"Well, go see who he was!" Red screamed in Ruby's head, making Ruby shout, both not noticing the figure in the shadows, watching with her calm lilac eyes.

"Oh shut up! Maybe you should do it!"

"Fine by me..." Just as red was about to take over again, she noticed someone in the room. "Someone's here."

"You mean apart from the dead body?" Ruby said it aloud, not noticing the shadow's eyes flicker with confusion at watching the usually scary woman act as bubbly and carefree as Nora, but the fact that she was talking to herself, and rather loudly, made her worry. The voice rang out again, and the figure immediately noticed who it was; it was Ruby.

"Well yes, dumb nuts." Red loved insulting the happier, carefree side of her, though after Ruby was locked up inside her for so long, taking the death of Adam slightly worse than Red, she forgot what it felt like, and enjoyed it thoroughly after doing so after so long.

"Ugh, fine! Who are you?" when she got no answer, tough she was sure there was someone there, she opted for Red's scare tactics, which always worked. "Come out or I'll blast your entrails around the room!" to top it off, she gave the most insanely scaring laugh- though not to Red, who just loved the sight of Ruby copying her- and red followed suit in her head.

"Okay, Okay! Don't do anything too harsh." Yang walked out of the shadows, her eyes now laced with horror at what she had just heard form her younger, seemingly innocent step- sister. "Wait. Ruby, is that you?"

Red just face-palmed herself, hoping she had not just heard that.

(^^^^^^)

**Yang's P.O.V...**

I watched from the shadows of Red's room, though something was off. She was talking to herself after taking down that goon from Roman Torchwick. I was amazed as she instantly killed him, because all she did was plunge a fist into his gut! Man, I wish I could do that.

"Come out or I'll blast your entrails around the room!" this was what I heard that didn't seem to be directed at herself. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I would say she was talking to me. Wait, she was talking to me! Uh Oh...

I stepped out from my hiding place after I heard an insanely scary laugh. Man that was the kind of thing someone in a mental institute would do.

"Okay, Okay! Don't do anything harsh." I said, the last words were meant to calm myself, to no avail as Red just stared at me. I couldn't see her under the hood, but her voice sounded exactly like Ruby's. "Wait. Ruby, is that you?" I just had to ask.

"What?" She says, clearly dumbfounded.

I just HAD to ask...

(^^^^^^)

Ruby just stood there, unsure of what to do. "You wanted to talk to her, so get it over with already! We need to check that body first though." Ruby agreed with Red's comment by saying a monotone "Yes", before walking over to the body. As she got closer she could see the white outline of a small letter peak form under the dead man's trench coat. That coat reminded her of Adam's, and she crumbled to the floor, next to the man. Yang ran over.

"Red, are you okay?"

"Get away!" she shouted pushing the older girl away with inhuman strength, causing Yang to tumble backwards. Ruby wanted Red to come out, as she could take the pain of seeing a reminder of Adam, and Red obliged, taking over.

Red aura went to black, before fading completely. "Maybe, if you hadn't of killed him so quickly, we would get more blood from him." Ruby said nothing, Yang just watched. "Oh, well. I can still harvest a reasonable amount."

Red pulled a vial from her cloak pocket, holding it underneath the open wound bleeding profusely from the dead goon. As the vial filled after drops of blood filled it, she placed the lid over the top of the vial, sealing it. Yang looked on in horror.

Red stood up, turning to face Yang and spoke as coldly as she did when Yang first met the murderer. "You tell anyone about what you saw or heard today, and I'll have your head mounted over a fireplace." At that, Red grabbed the letter from under the goon's coat and sprung in a rose petal flurry, arriving at the Cliffside she had travelled to with Blake earlier that night- well, morning, because the time was now 2o'clock.- and sat down on a bench.

Red noticed something was wrong, and spoke to Ruby. "What's wrong? Usually you never stop talking." She didn't get an answer, and caught on to why Ruby was quiet, and felt the same way as well. "It's Adam, isn't it?"

"Yeah" was the only reply Red got from Ruby, the usually talkative one in this strange relationship between inner and outer self.

"Well, let's read this letter. We can find out who sent us the lovely blood supply." Ruby chuckled sweetly, her aching and wallowing gone, replaced with her usual chipper self.

"Why don't we leave it and...Keep it a surprise!" Ruby was way too happy, but Red actually liked her this way. If she was just like Red as well, she would be unbalanced, and therefore her soul would turn black. Her hate had to be balanced by something happy; even if it is herself. Red couldn't resist the voice she was giving her, and agreed with Ruby.

"Red; something's wrong..." with that, Ruby's voice- even as it was inside her head- was slurred and hazed.

"What? No, I fed not two hours ago! It can't be that." Red knew it wasn't, but blood also had healing properties for her as well. She must've been injured at some point, and was now feeling it. "Ruby, what is wrong, I need to know?"

"Head, it's bleeding." Red's voice then got louder as she thought of ways this could have possibly happened.

"Fine, this is the last dose of blood we can take or we'll... well, you know what'll happen." Red took a gulp of the blood, savouring the taste.

After that she made her way to the rendezvous point, being extra fast as the train would leave soon...

(^^^^^^)

She arrived at the train tracks a little too early, and used the surplus time to survey the area, taking note of every branch and tree, every hole in the ground and every animal that passed her. The trains hoot came from no where, bringing her to her senses and darting down the slope, jumped off at the last minute- similar as to how Adam had told her he did it- and landed gracefully on top of the cargo compartment of the train. She set about unhooking each train cart that contained the dust, each one remaining motionless and acting as a pathway for the crook Roman Torchwick. Her mind trailed back to the letter, wanting to see who was sent after her, but eventually gave up and caved in to her inner child.

"Last one..." she muttered as she hefted crescent Rose in her hands, and expertly spun the scythe blade down and severed the chains that bound the last cargo area to the front of the passenger area. Just as that occurred a missile flew past her head, crashing into the passenger part of the train, de-railing it and pushing it over to one side.

The screams that reached her augmented hearing was those of fear, horror and dying. She didn't like the screams of innocents dying, and so set out to approach the person who had just killed one hundred innocent souls.

As she turned, her aura flared with the realisation that she was being followed, and she immediately blocked the bullet- or it seemed to be a bullet- aimed at her neck. She shot off a few rounds at the attacker, the only thing being visible through the rose petals surrounding her aura had been orange hair... It was Roman, and as she thought this, she let her guard down for only a half second, allowing Roman a massive opportunity to shoot his missile at her, tempering it with his own aura, making sure to stun, not kill.

The missile was fired, the rocket flying towards her chest, but she did the impossible; unsheathed her crescent Rose with one hand and grabbed the missile with the other, effectively stopping it. The pain for her was nothing compared to what she had been through in the past, as the missile scraped away flesh and seared bone. To Roman's surprise she didn't even flinch.

"What the hell Red! What are you?" Just as Roman said that, he could feel the presence of Cinder- his Boss of sorts- arrive.

"Roman; shoot her already. We need her remember?" Cinder tugged at his sleeve; making him raise the dart gun he held in his other hand. With one muffled sound, another dart came at her, but she vanished, the dart only piercing rose petals.

A demonic laugh could be heard from behind Cinder and Roman, and Roman turned his head and body, bringing his cane up to attack her, only to hit another cloud of rose petals. He then felt something hit his head, sending him across the now stopped passenger cart, dead passengers littered across the area and breaking his fall.

Cinder watched in fury as her plan would be destroyed if Roman died, and shot four glyphs at where she thought Red was going to be next, only to hit rose petals again. This was becoming infuriating, and if she couldn't have Red alive, she would have her dead. She used her semblance, causing a massive shockwave of fire to spread around her, scorching the cart's top and melting the metal of the steel walls and searing the dead bodies.

"Nice trick, bet that wore you down huh?" Red said it almost apologetically, reappearing form her rose petals and standing right in front of Cinder. "I don't kill the unarmed or unready, so catch your breath so we can get this over with already." she looked over to Roman, who was slumped against a dead body, still conscious and his precious Candy Cane far away from him. "You swore on your honour, but you clearly don't have any. You'll die a slow and excruciating death." As she spoke, Cinder raised her hand, fire surrounding it and plunged it into Red's left shoulder but was frozen to the spot. She had expected to hear a cry of pain or at least a small whine, but she didn't even get a whimper. This girl really didn't feel pain.

Red sighed as she felt the searing hot hand pierce her shoulder, rendering it useless. "Won't work Cinder." How did Red know her name? Well, she did know everyone's name in Vale, so she perhaps overheard it from a couple of rambling drunkards. "You should really concentrate your aura more, or you would have noticed I was right behind you all this time."

Sure enough, Red was right behind her, no pain whatsoever or even a smirk. She just stood emotionless. How had she done this? Even Roman was visibly scared. Not wanting to find out how she was doing this, Cinder shot red with her other hand, shooting molten rock over Red, only to find she had blocked the potentially lethal attack with her already burnt hand, watching as the molten rock rendered her hand nothing but charred and skeletal, her finger bones clearly showing and the wrist bone as well.

"I really liked my right hand." Red put emphasis onto really. "But it's a good job I'm left handed." What Red didn't let on, was that her aura failed ages ago, along with the missile that destroyed her right hand, followed by Cinder's magma attack, which rendered it to nothing but a few strips of flesh and seared bone. She couldn't feel the pain, but her other side, Ruby, could and screamed inside her head.

She then felt something pierce her neck, ever so slightly and blackness crept onto her vision. She reached to the affected area and pulled it from her neck, waving it in front of her head to see what it was. It was a knockout dart, shot by none other than Roman. He stood there with a silly grin on his face as he picked up Candy cane and walked over to Cinder, placing a hand on her back before looking over to Red, who was now feeling the dart's poison act. She slumped to the ground, saying a couple of slurred words before succumbing to the darkness. "Non lethal Deathstalker venom; Impressive..." she trailed away and fell to the darkness that finally clouded her vision, sleeping on the metal ground.

Roman reached for the earpiece he was wearing while cinder finally recovered from her aura exhaustion. "We have her. Send the airship to pick her up."

"Yes sir" was the audible answer through his earpiece before the connection went dead, and a few moments later the silence was broken by the sound of an airship's engines and people coming down on ropes, wrapping up her right hand and tying her to the stretcher, carrying her to the ship to prepare to take her to Roman's base.

Seven pairs of eyes watched the display before them, and as red was carried away, emerged from the shadows, staring at one another before Pyrrha finally spoke up, being the last to leave the shadows.

"We need a plan to get her out. I suggest..."

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: alright guys, I have had the greatest support from you all. For this story we excelled 1,500 viewers! **

**Special shout out to DravynLeCrux for the idea and helping me along with the story. I can honestly say that I would be lost if not for his help.**

**This will be like a sort of mini series inside a series of chapters, so expect this arc of the story to take a good five to seven chapters. **

**Dravyn, you rule. Thank you so much for the help. To all the loyal fans; pm questions or requests for what ever you want to see in the next chapter and expect your name to be in a special 'Shout time' in the next chapter. **

**Do not leave any hate or unwelcomed reviews: Only constructive criticism or harsh helping. **

**PEACE!**


	8. the torturous flame: part one

She was rudely awoken by the fist that flew into her gut, but that mattered little to her; she needed to know where she was. Blinking her eyes open, not even letting on that she had just been hit in the gut, she turned her head slightly, seeing she was in a room with no windows and a single light hanging from the ceiling; almost too similar to the room she met Ozpin in.

"Ugh. For the first time in nearly five years, I feel like crap." Red said groggily, the effects of the sleep toxin not yet wearing off.

"You'll feel a lot more, young lady." Cinder walked in, still in her red dress, eyes burning from the fire she had inside her. Cinder shook the grogginess form Red with a quick jolt of electricity from a nearby battery that was conveniently hooked up to her arms. She didn't even get a squeal as the electricity coursed through her, and Cinder didn't like that. Her right hand was healing faster than any aura healer had ever even dreamt could happen, and that scared Roman; it would leave yet another scar upon her body. "So Red; why are you here?"

"Job for Roman; nothing more." She was cut off before she could add to the answer she had given.

"Wrong answer; you attacked us, so now we want to know why you're here." Cinder had a small hint of delight at the torture she would then carry out, had the girl not answered her as she wanted her to. The method of torture that she was using was a rare method, often used by police to help witnesses and suspects comply; it was called Stockholm torture. It induced the effect of Stockholm syndrome into the victim, but that would also induce extreme loyalty, and this was what she had done to most of the grubs in the army she was forming.

"Won't work, lady; I've survived this Stockholm torture before, so go ahead. At least the last captor used something far better and more efficient than simple electricity." She was clearly mocking Cinder, and she didn't like that at all. Just as she was about to shock Red again, Roman called out to her.

"Cinder; we should probably try a different method." Roman said it teasingly, but also eyes full of menace. She walked up to him, "Fine" was the only answer Roman got from Cinder; before she vanished around the corner by simply walking. The pace at which the woman could walk surprised even him, but shook it off as he beckoned for the six Faunus wheeling in a giant container to set it down, before telling them to leave.

"Now red..." he started, walking over to the container next to the woman, patting it as he approached. "I am going to let our new pet on you. For every scream, you'll get ten lashes from the whip. And might I add, it has some fantastic blades on the end of it..." He chuckled, eliciting a grin from Red. "What are you grinning at?" his laughter was quickly replaced by anger. He still couldn't see past the girl's hood, and so went to pull it down, but immediately brought it back as he felt a snap on his wrist. It appears that Cinder had walked in with a box of some kind, but clearly not heavy enough to heft in two hands, and slapped Roman's curious hand.

"Leave it. There will be nothing left of her when we're done anyway." She shot a glance at Red, as if to say sorry. But perhaps that was Red's mind playing tricks on her; Cinder would never say or feel sorry for what she was about to do... would she? Roman gave a putting face, but quickly agreed as he walked over to the cage and placed a hand on the lock, wiggling it loose.

Cinder left in a hurry, as if she was watching a close friend about to die and wanted none of it. Roman followed suit and let the creature inside the cage have its fun with the victim on the torture rack.

"It's just you and me now beasty." Red muttered to herself, waiting for the creature to come rushing out at her.

(^^^^^^)

"An hour and nothing. Not even a scream." Roman looked at Cinder, who was noticeably worried for the young girl, yet he shrugged it off as another thing he shouldn't pry into. "I have to say, I am impressed at her resilience. We should probably go and check on her?" the last part was a question, and Cinder immediately looked happier, and back to her old self again.

"Well, open the door, idiot." Cinder shouted at him, giving him that fire- death stare she gave to people she was annoyed by.

They stepped through the sliding door, and Roman almost felt sick at what he saw; chinks of bone and pieces of flesh were dotted around the room, with blood smearing the walls. As they walked in further, Red's magic set in and turned the blood and shredded torso items to nothing more than floating rose petals, rendering the room clean once again.

They both looked at the astonishing sight before them; and Cinder felt sick. She saw blood splattered around Red, a large head on the floor next to her body. She feared the worst, and felt as if she too was going to be sick, but the sounds of crunching caught her ears.

A gulping sound followed, before red spoke up. "Have to say, it wasn't as tasty as a proper beowolf, but it'll do." She hadn't actually eaten a Grimm before- well, as a hobby- and only ever doing so to replenish her health. Cinder felt sick inside, and yet slightly aroused by the girl's ways. Not knowing what this feeling was and why she worried for the girl's health so much, she put on her most menacing costume of attitude that could rival Weiss' and her voice as cold as Red, but nowhere near as scary. She was determined to make a point to herself to explore these feeling later and find out what they were, as she had never felt them for anyone before; let alone a fifteen year old girl.

"Well... start the torture already so we can get this over with. I hate being left on the spot after killing a Grimm with absolutely no ability whatsoever." (A/N. Before anyone even comes up with the sick idea, she does not gain pleasure from pain. Stuff that idea up your perverted assess! On with the show...) Cinder looked amazed as she found no sign of the beowolf Roman had set upon the chained girl, and couldn't help but ask, still in her stoic but menacing voice.

"How did you kill a beowolf while chained up?"

"Simple stuff really; they are too predictable. I had learned the hard way what they'll do. So let's just get on with it, shall we?"

Cinder was clearly taken aback by what the girl had said. What did she mean by what she said when she said "I had learned that the hard way"? She couldn't process the information, trying to make up her own reasoning before Roman cut her thought with his voice as if he were cutting a ribbon with a Katana. "Cinder: What do we do? I think we'll have to start in physical torture..." He smiled at that last part, cracking his knuckles and smiling wickedly. Cinder pushed her emotions aside as to contemplate them with herself later.

"Be my guest, retard. You haven't seen my scars yet, have you?" Red broke off whatever answer Cinder was going to give as Roman punched her hard in the face. Red just laughed as the fist made contact with her face, but Ruby- the other her- was screaming in pain inside red's head, causing the girl to laugh even louder as she turned a small chuckle into a seemingly unstoppable torrent of laughter.

"We need to take the hood off..." Red stopped laughing and sent him a death glare as if to say "touch the hood, and a knife touches each one of your fingers". He stuttered the next part of his declaration with fear, and Cinder was noticeably scared as well, but eventually settled. "C-Cinder, what do we d-Do?" Cinder was pitying the girl as her thoughts came back to her as of the previous question she had raised in her head, completely ignoring Roman, and eventually came with the answer that she had seen more and felt more than anyone n the entire world could have.

Red then spoke what her glare had said silently, as if to reinforce her silent meaning. "Touch the hood, and you'll never see your fingers ever again. I'll eat each and every one of them in front of you while I slice of your most valuable asset." Roman gulped, but then found the threat as more of an insult and felt his anger returning, striking Red in the head with his fist which had knocked out countless people before. She was seemingly unaffected by this, and went back to laughing, scaring Roman to the point of him retreating from the room.

As he left, red tried a new trick and brought out her special techniques she would use against her previous captors, buttering them up and inducing a reversed Stockholm effect. One side effect of that was that the person always became a valuable friend, and she felt she had been too far and too long without one of those, and also felt Cinder could oblige her need for a lieutenant of sorts; trustworthy and commanding, which clearly Cinder was.

"Is he always an idiot?" Cinder was taken back from what Red had asked, but immediately shrugged it off as her feeling re-surfaced and took over, answering the girl she felt so sorry for.

"Indeed he is. Even though he is a weak- stomached idiot, he is valuable." Red caught on to what she was saying, and immediately felt angered. For what reason, she didn't know.

"So... are you two together?" Red was clearly angered, but Cinder didn't notice as she felt a tinge of anger as well.

"Never ever going to happen, as much as I'm sure he wants it to. He is too weak willed and can't even take a punch before crying: literally." At this, red smiled inside, knowing her reversed techniques were coming in handy already. They both let out a small laugh, as if they were both school girl's. What Red didn't know, was that Cinder was actually only two years older than her, even though she seemed in her thirties. What she also didn't know was that Cinder was already having feeling for her, whether she knew it or not. And Red was, admittedly, having feelings for her. She didn't know either.

"You really are just like me Cinder; we both enjoy the same things." Red was clearly teasing her but Cinder took it seriously.

"Such as?" she hadn't ever expected to become even acquaintances with Red; the mass murdering girl she didn't know the age of yet. One part of her yearned to know her age, and that was the slightly emotional age.

Red got straight to the point, and that made Cinder even friendlier with her, though she wanted to scald herself for doing so, as red was a prisoner. However her feeling were, she felt nothing but worry for the girl, even as she knew the girl in red could protect herself, but she didn't know why she felt this way, and even as that revelation dawned on her, she continued to pry at the girl, hoping for the first friend- no matter how odd the circumstances they were in- in her life, considering she was always seen as evil with her powers of fire.

"Well, we both hate Roman. We both have a strange sense of men, and apparently you agree..." Cinder gave a slow nod, but then her thoughts as to how Red's observations could be so accurate were cut in by Roman returning. Cinder saw the bat in his hand. She leant in to Red and whispered "Sorry, we'll talk tomorrow." She stood up, returning to her icy self.

She looked over at Roman, the spiked bat weighed in his hand. "Don't kill her; we need her abilities and possibly her mind." Unknown to Roman, as he approached the girl in red, Cinder shot her a look of regret before leaving. Tears would have fell for some unknown reason had she not used her flaming hands to push the tears into evaporation.

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: Just to warn you all, this is very graphic with the torture, so the faint of heart should probably skip the chapter. Well, maybe not as it is still important to the story... **

**...I'll shut up now.**

Red felt her gut being shredded by the very first hit she had received from Roman. She didn't even show her pain, as she herself felt none. Ruby, on the other hand felt everything, and as the bat hit into Red's stomach for the third time, she fell unconscious. Whenever Ruby did this, red had an immediate aura surge, healing all wounds and instantly giving her the strength of a bull in a china shop, able to obliterate a beowolf and turn it to a sludge pile on the floor, but didn't wan to leave. Why she didn't was beyond her, but every time she thought of the reason, her mind darted back to Cinder.

"What the hell?" her clothes even healed over, her aura being that strong to do that. Roman shouted his question and heard Cinder rush in, followed by six guards.

"What is wrong with you Roman?" Cinder's only emotion was pissed as she was abruptly woken from her light sleep.

"I hit her three or four times, and even saw her guts." He looked visibly shaken. "Look at her! It's as if my batting did nothing!"

Red chipped in. "You really are as weak as I thought you were if you couldn't even graze me; with a spiked bat, no less." Red was clearly taunting him, and saw he didn't appreciate it.

Cinder let off a laugh, but then silenced it and stared in awe; Red was hit again in the stomach, but before her eyes, it healed over, the clothing seemingly not even touched. This made Red give off a small chuckle before the strangest thing happened, and Roman swore he was drunk by something, anything. It could even be power.

"No... Stay inside..." Red looked in agony but she also flickered, her aura changing between red and Black. Ruby's voice sounded out, before Red's came back, and this alternated between the two for sometime, causing the entire room to seem scared and somewhat curious as to what was happening.

Oh shit... I haven't fed..." she swore as everyone could hear what she was saying, and cinder immediately thought she meant food. Red obviously meant blood, and drinking Grimm blood actually reduced the amount of time she had until she next had to feed.

"Marco!" she ordered the tall, black haired Faunus next to her to get some food for \red, as she was no used to her starving.

"What a freak show. I'll be back later to finish what I started..." Roman called all of the other Faunus with him, and went out of the room.

"B-Blood..." Red was muttering what she needed to survive the hits she had taken. Although no physical damage was present and her hand almost healed, she was brutally near the edge of death on the inside.

"What?" Cinder was now curious. "Why do you need blood?"

"I... just do..." she then let out a piercing scream as the other her came out for a small moment, before surfacing back in to her head, unconscious once more.

"Done." She turned her head to the door and called for another expendable prisoner. A man was walked in, fear evident in his eyes when he saw Red, as he tried to escape, his feet were glued to the floor thanks to Cinder's glyphs. She waved her wrist to dismiss the man, who had brought him in and stared in mild curiosity and amusement as she weakened one of Red's shackles, allowing her to move one of her arms freely.

"Please..."the man started, only to be silenced when an almost healed right hand grabbed the man by his throat, pulling him closer. He shrunk in fear as he edged closer to Red, which had to constantly shake her head at the sleepiness that threatened to overtake her.

"You... look good enough to eat..." she cackled, wincing as her throat began to dry as she continued to bring him closer to her, eventually until their heads were right next to each other's. Cinder then watched in mild horror, then amusement as she watched red sink her teeth into his throat, silencing the gurgled man's cries, ripping his throat out and drinking the blood that erupted from the open wound. She finished her fill of the blood, and watched in amusement and slight arousal as Cinder saw everything and had a massive grin plastered upon her face. She too felt some sort of relativity to Red, as Red had stated previously after seeing what she could do.

Red then flashed a massive Black aura, covering her small form head to toe before disappearing, her right hand completely healed and a massive scar taking its place of the skeletal form that had been caused by both her and Roman.

Cinder just nodded as Red silently asked her for a minute to herself.

As Cinder left, Red sang a small song she loved listening to as it practically described what she was and how she felt.

_When the days are cold and the cards all fold,_

_And the saints we see are all made of gold._

_When your dreams all fail and the ones we hail are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run stale..._

Cinder was stood outside of the interrogation room, listening to the heartfelt song and heard what she thought was a sniffle before Red continued.

_I want to hide the truth. I want to shelter you_

_But with the beast inside, there's nowhere we can hide._

_No matter what we breed..._

As she sang this, her heart crumbled and tears fell form her eyes as she was reminded of her once alive Adam, and how she thought they could be together forever.

_... We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come; this is my kingdom come..._

The chorus was even harder for her to sing, and even harder for Cinder to hear. Red was now crying, and with every word she sang, she felt saddened even more, and the tears that were just drops on her face were now enough to form a river.

_When you feel my heat, look into my eyes,_

_It's where my demons hide; it's where my demons hide._

_Don't get too close, it's dark inside..._

Red cried some more before finishing the painful song that summed her up exactly. It then became apparent to Cinder- and painstakingly obvious as well- that Red had lost someone close to her and became what everyone sees today. Cinder then heard the sobs and crying from Red, and one part of her wanted to help the girl, but the dominant, cold and bitter part made her ignore the girl and continue listening.

_...it's where my demons hide..._

She repeated it again, finishing the song and breaking down in tears, thankful no one was in the room to see this spectacle unfold. She felt herself immerse in yet another memory, the same one that plagued her nightmares, and Cinder's heart wrenched and felt the cold chip away form her fiery heart when she heard what Red had said.

"Oh Adam... I'm so sorry..." the room was then silent as red felt herself return to her normal, cold and stoic self; always calm on the outside but always lonely and needing on the inside; and that need was a person to love. She figured form that day that she didn't care what or who she had fallen in love with; she just needed to feel love again...

(^^^^^^)

**A/N: the song I used was by Imagine Dragons- demons (remixed by Nightcore). Nightcore are my favourite band, so I don't want to hear any hate towards them.**

**I know I said mid-way through the chapter that I would make it bloody, but I felt that I just couldn't do it.**

**Next chapter is a definite though... Another shout out to DravynLeCrux...**

**... And only him because he is the only one to actually bother to p.m me and give requests and ideas.**

**Stay loyal Dravyn and continue your support...**

**My hat is off to you, dear boy!**


	9. Wait what?

"Roman..." She called for the orange haired sociopathic murderer over, waiting for him to be stood right in front of her before she continued.

"Yes?" Roman looked impatient as Red was practically sitting there, dying of boredom, not his punches and torture. He had always enjoyed the torture part of his job the most; only ever capturing people when he wanted to and the cause of which he was part of absolutely needed it.

"There's something... off, about Red." Cinder was unexpectedly worried, but this was a pure concern for her plans being destroyed if they couldn't bring Red into it... or that's what Roman- at least- thought.

"You mean apart from the fact that she took six bats to the gut and didn't even shed a tear? Or are you referring to the part where I shot her hand and she didn't even flinch? You practically melted her hand and yet there it is..." He trailed off slightly, allowing Cinder to think; 'he is right. No normal person could've survived that... let alone need to drink blood...' she was lost in thought, not even noticing Roman had stopped finishing his short rant about how Red had survived impossibilities, and this girl was- indeed- worth his time to torture.

"No idiot. I think I've seen her before, but can't place it..." she tapped her temple, trying to think of her life memories, but couldn't, and gave up. "... Oh well, go get in there and get it over with. I've got an idea, but need to think first." She waved him in and closed the door behind him, keeping him in a confined space with a vigilante/ murderer. The walls had been cleaned of the blood long ago done by Red as she killed the beowolf, but they were once again stained with crimson red, adding the chained woman's namesake to the coloured walls.

"About time... Now Red, I'd like to introduce to you a special 'torture tool', if you will."Roman paced around the red girl, who acted as if she didn't even register his presence. He slapped her. "Pay attention girl!" Red just growled, like the beowolf she had killed before she went quiet again. "Okay, meet my pet project..." he reached down, unhooking a previously unnoticed door on the floor, opposite Red. She had noticed the door, but let on she didn't, and continued to play the 'none the wiser idiot vigilante' as she stared blankly at the wall near it. She knew something was happening to her; for example, every time Cinder came in, her previous thoughts were replaced with the red woman. Whenever she tried to think about the village and the home she lived in, her mind skipped to a small red-dressed girl- about her age- and her talking about weapons and the sorts. She shook her head mentally, and felt Ruby awaken again, her aura fading once more.

"What's he talking about, Red?" Ruby had asked the question that was on both of their minds.

She said nothing, and instead kept her eyes focused on the wall away from what Roman was doing. He had already opened the trapdoor, letting out a tamed Deathstalker, quickly running out of the room before heading back in when he had heard a whimper, and thought his plan had worked before seeing what he saw destroyed the very notion.

Red was mumbling something in a very old and unrecognisable language, making it seem she was a witch of sorts, the way she was chanting the words over and over again. He then noticed a small piece of her black aura travel from her into the Grimm, sending it into a sleep before it awoke again, still with red eyes and a bone mask covering its scorpion-like features. Roman looked in shock as the Grimm wasn't attacking her, it was obeying her. What had happened shook Roman to the very core, and made him run for the entrance to the room, slamming the door so hard that a large thud sound was heard throughout the base, waking Cinder... again.

(^^^^^^)

**Three hours prior to Yang seeing Red...**

Weiss was in the dorm, studying as Red had instructed her to. Why she had been told to stay behind and study- even as she had no quarries with it- she had no idea. She was impressed, however, that Red would worry so much about a team she barely knew and their grades. She had pondered for a moment, considering to just scalding the leader when she came back. That would put her in Red's good graces because- as Weiss had seen- Red admired and accepted those with courage. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Blake doing the same, with the same thoughts and emotions inside. Blake had the face of a confused child as she worked, and Weiss loved watching the woman who had shown her up suffer by not knowing anything. Little did Weiss know Blake had a lot more information than she was letting on, but red had 'Persuaded' her not to talk about her current whereabouts or the mission she was doing.

Regardless, she had wondered- the same as Weiss- why she was asked to study instead of help, and that made her uneasy. She had never sat out from a fight, but Red was too scary to disobey, and as she was thinking of disobeying, she remembered the images Red had shown her, and sunk back into her studying.

"Wait, where's Yang?" Weiss had noticed what the usually sharp Faunus couldn't; Yang wasn't here. This didn't seem to unsettle Blake at the slightest. "She said something about shopping and looking for something special for dinner tonight..." Blake trailed, understandable to the heiress as she thought back to the first time Yang cooked for the dorm, right after she was assigned to the team. She then remembered the smell of smoke filling her lungs and a loud crackle, followed by an explosion, rocketing to her ears.

"I swear by dust, she is NEVER cooking here again!" Weiss shouted to Blake, who had now clutched her stomach and rolled from her studying, laughing at the statement.

"Weiss Schnee; did you just make a joke?" Blake asked, but before Weiss could answer, Yang burst in, grocery bags in her hands.

"Weiss made a joke?!" Yang stared at her and Blake before noticing Red wasn't here. "Where's our loveable leader?" Yang said loveable with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

"She went out" Was Blake's only answer before Yang just shrugged it off, walking to the dorm kitchen before being launched to the ground by Weiss as Blake took the bags and ran into the kitchen, locking it. "Get off princess!"

"Okay..." Weiss stood up and brushed herself down.

"You're not gonna let it go, are you?" Yang asked, a bit of hope in her voice before it was dashed.

"No." Yang sighed at the answer, hoping Red will come in through the door and defend the rather funny spectacle she had caused last time as worthy of a second chance. She didn't come.

"Oh well. Maybe next time..." Yang walked to her own bed, jumping on top bunk before falling to sleep.

(^^^^^^)

"That's not possible..." She stared at the flame haired man, beginning to think that red was right last when they had spoken, stating Roman was an idiot- and incompetent at that- and unworthy to be here.

"Just look. If you value your life, don't go in there." Roman didn't even sound frustrated or angered, or even worried; no, he just sounded amused.

Cinder walked through the door, closing it behind her before stopping dead in her tracks; Roman was indeed right. Here, in front of her, lay a sleeping Deathstalker, next to a wide awake Red, who seemed to be staring at the wall, as if lost in thought.

Cinder took small steps, trying not to make any sounds, but to no avail. The sleeping beast awoke, before taking its fighting position. "No, she's a friend." Red smiled slightly at her excellent choice of words, for she had remembered that which Cinder had long forgotten, or at east thought she had forgotten.

"Just remember who's being tortured here..." Cinder was about to step again, walking towards the red girl in chains before stopping in her tracks again when she heard the Deathstalker let out a small groan of annoyance at her presence. She then walked, edging closer to the red girl, stopping right in front of her.

"I'm not the one being tortured. If anything, this is fun. I've been through worse, as you should know. If not, then my attempts have been for naught, and I should just break out of here right now." As if to seem serious- which she was- she shook her hands in her shackles, and Cinder watched in awe as one of the shackles cracked, the chain snapping and falling from the rack. Cinder continued watching; those shackles could hold a fully grown Ursa in place, so how was it she had broken out so easily? She watched as the second one snapped, following the first one's descent to the floor, clanking against the concrete compound it was made of.

"Much better; Now, Cinder..." as if to punctuate the fact she wanted to talk to her, she walked towards her until their heads were barely an inch away. "To help you remember, I'm gonna bring out the inner me. Whatever you do, don't let her ask you to leave, she knows you as well..."

As she said that, her entire body grew and glowed with a red aura, the Deathstalker still unaffected by it and stood, watching. Ruby surfaced, and Cinder felt a strange feeling of knowing.

"Huh? Where am I?" Ruby grabbed her head before raising it and seeing the red dressed woman. She had not heard the conversation that occurred between the two, and Red wanted to keep it that way and let Cinder remember without any help. "You..." she said it with a tone of fear, backing away and hiding behind the Deathstalker, cowering. Cinder swore she had seen this before, or at least this personality before. She still couldn't see the face of the girl, but a single name came to her mind; one that had plagued her dreams for the last five years since the horrible event that took place in her village... Ruby.

"W-What do you W-Want? Don't hurt me!" Cinder approached the Deathstalker, not knowing whether it would attack or not. She went off on a whim and guessed it wouldn't, so continued walking till she came face to... hood... with the cowering girl. She felt even worse now that she had seen a girl she had guessed her age cower from her, especially one she swore she was friends with... or at least knew.

"I know you from somewhere..." she was cut form her sentence as a small hand reached for its weapon, unsheathing the surprisingly big- and familiar- scythe to Cinder. Ruby took her battle stance, and the Deathstalker sensed its master in trouble, joined in too.

"You torture me, attack me, attempt to turn me form Beacon and YOU ALREADY KNEW ME!?" without even a blink, Cinder felt herself slammed against the wall, Ruby preparing to slice her to ribbons until a voice rang in her head.

"Ruby, that's Cinder."

"She tortured me!"

"She tortured ME, Ruby."

"I felt it all. You didn't because of me. You never do." Ruby took Red's silence as acceptance as to what she was saying. "You don't know what it's like Red! It's horrible. Remember that time you were stabbed and your guts flew on the floor? I felt THAT!" She continued, not registering the gasp from Cinder as she heard this. "Remember when you were tortured to the point your legs bent the other way? I FELT THAT! I feel it all, and it makes me think whether or not you really are me, or just another evil person who needs killing."

"I'm sorry Ruby."

No you're not sorry! You never are!" Ruby then looked sad. "Not even to me... I AM YOU!" Ruby shouted, causing Cinder to wince in pain as Ruby's grip on her throat tightened, the deathstalker on the other side of the room stared.

"Ruby please, I am sorry..." Red started, trying to get the girl to calm down. Suffice to say it didn't work.

"No!" Ruby let go of Cinder and stormed over to the corner, allowing Cinder to get her breath back. She stared over at the now sitting Ruby, who was crying and shouting at herself again. She wondered what red had said to her before Ruby emerged, yet she thought Red was still playing a trick on her, trying to butter her up enough. If the tears were anything short of convincing then she wouldn't have done what she did; Cinder stood, walking over to Ruby and sat next to her, not daring to put a hand on her.

"Get away from me, you evil witch." Ruby shuffled away form a clearly hurt- for some unknown reason- Cinder. She had never been hurt by words from her tortures, but this cut deep as she then saw a flashback to when she saw Ruby kneeling next to two people, one her mother and the other her boyfriend, and watched in pity as she saw Ruby cry, on the inside, of course, as she had never seen the girl cry.

"I remember you... Ruby" Cinder looked at her, seeing Ruby's face change from that of sadness to anger again.

"Oh, so you do remember me? What possessed you to torture me like this? Your own friend!"

Cinder was taken back from the statement. "Friend?"

"Yes friend. You clearly have no concept on what that means anymore."

Red just watched in amusement as Ruby chewed into Cinder. For everything she did, Cinder deserved it.

"Ruby I... I'm sorry. I didn't remember you or even my old life..." before she could continue she heard a growl of anger come form the girl as she watched her aura flicker from red to black.

"T-This is my fight R-Red... "

Red spoke inside her head. "You're tired, Ruby. Go and watch the memories we have of her and Adam before we kill her. Okay?"

Ruby just nodded and unbeknownst to Cinder, Red came back.

"She can get emotional sometimes. I forget what we've been through sometimes..." she looked over to Cinder. "And her actions were completely justified. We were your friends, Cinder. And you go and torture us?" Red was still calm, despite Ruby screaming on the inside to come out and rip her in half. "That shows us that our feelings for you were simply misplaced."

I-I really am sorry Red...err, Ruby. Which one are you again?" Cinder titled her head in confusion. Cinder had never been confused at anything, mainly due to the fact that everyone around her were idiots- to say bluntly- and, until she remembered who Red was, she was the smartest one there. What had confused her was what she had just seen, considering that she was used to most semblances and auras.

"Red. Ruby is the one with the pink aura and the... hyperactive, nature. I, however, am more calm, observant, stoic, slightly sociopathic and murderous..." she let out that last word as a joke, and also as a laugh.

"Wait, you said you had feelings...?" Cinder had completely forgotten she had heard Red say that, but the feeling was mutual. She didn't want to tell her now renewed friend, let alone after she had her tortured. She set out to make it right, planning in her head.

"That I did. We felt a strong connection to you as soon as you were blocking our attacks when we first saw you. It was then that I realised who you were, and as you started to shoot me caring glances and such, I felt more." Cinder acted on impulse and lunged forward, clashing her lips against Red's blood red ones. Red reciprocated for a moment, before Cinder pulled away, blushing slightly.

"Well..."

"That was a thing..."Red said, remembering what Yang would most likely say about this... eventful day. Red had never blushed, not even with Adam. The closest she ever got in her life was when she stumbled in on her father and mother 'wrestling' in the bed; but now, her cheeks were her altar namesake.

"That should never have happened. I really..." Cinder stopped, her eyes twinkling. She was clearly flustered by her unintended action. "I have to process what just happened. For now, can you try and hold out against Roman's unconventional torture?"

"Wait..." Red was now taken back- only slightly- by what Cinder had said. "What do you mean process what just happened?"

"I want us to be friends, I really do. I just feel if Roman found out we were... involved... it wouldn't go well with you and Ruby." She took a deep breath. "I have to figure out these thoughts and emotions and... stuff." For the first time in her life, she had used the word stuff. "Please, can we just stay friends for now? I'll come in and visit you when we're alone and we can talk some more. That is, if I'm not overseeing the torture."

"Sure" was the only answer Red gave her before standing up and walking over to the deathstalker, still watching and with one, swift cleaving motion, sliced the beast in two. Soon after it turned to petals, before even they vanished altogether, leaving no evidence of the beast ever being there.

Cinder stood up, walking out of the door and turning to a surprised- to see her alive, anyway- Roman. "The deathstalker's dead." She walked off to her own room before turning to tell him something. "Oh, almost forgot; Red's free."

At that, she left a visibly confused Roman at the door, before he registered what she had said and placed a bolt over the door, securing the prisoner in. What he had not expected nor known was that Cinder was actually happy over the action she had done, but left Red questioning her own sanity.

Red had promised never to love anyone apart from Adam, but the void of which Adam left only grew, and she felt the need of another person to be introduced into her life. And at that, she pondered the possibility of her and Cinder, though a prisoner/ torturer romance was very unlikely, even more unlikely that they would be able to move past it and continue on.

(^^^^^^)

**Yang's P.O.V **

You see, when I hear of something impossible happening, I just have to go and see what it was and how it happened; trailing Red to her apartment a few hours ago was probably one of the worst things I have ever done... ever. Let's just say that what I saw would give me nightmares for weeks, but the one thought of my little sister- adopted of course- kept me calm; Ruby.

I felt sorry for her because she has seen and felt more than anyone on this planet, and that says something. Moving on, I was walking to my dorm with food in a bag for dinner later. It was nothing special; just Ruby's old favourite foods. Please don't ask how I know her favourite foods. Great, now I'm talking to myself.

I stopped right outside the dorm, listening to Blake laughing and Weiss do that cute "Humph" she does. Then something impossible hit my ears; those words that made me gape at the door in disbelief.

"Weiss Schnee; did you just make a joke?" that was it. I couldn't control myself anymore and smashed through the door, almost taking the poor thing off its hinges.

"Weiss made a joke?!" I just had to tease her. This was now perfect blackmail material; One for the record. I looked past a face-palming Weiss and a laughing Blake to see Red wasn't here and just had to use that as an advantage to make fun of her. "Where's our loveable leader?" I had put emphasis on loveable, just to see the reactions of the rest of them. Let's lust say that it wasn't a happy one. Wait; am I monologing? Seriously it's a word. After a couple of words I was pinned to the floor by Weiss while Blake snatched the bag out of my hand and ran for the kitchen. A few minutes later, I could smell cooking.

"Get off me princess!" I screamed at her, and the only answer I got from her was "Okay..."

"You're not gonna let it go, are you?" I had hoped she couldn't tell the small bit of hope in my voice, but she did. And BOY did she crush it.

"No."

"Oh well, maybe next time..." I muttered as I walked to my bed and flung my self on the bunk. I could swear I heard Weiss mutter "never going to happen" or something like that, but I was too much in thought to notice.

I was having simple thoughts on what I had seen today, and that was a bit creepy... even for me. I also thought upon my memories of Ruby- however little there were- and noticed something. I swear I should have noticed it sooner, but that's just me.

The red cloak and hood were what Ruby wore, in fact, it looked the exact same as what Ruby wore. It actually made me think... me... Yang Xiao Long, thinking! Bah, I swear something's wrong with me, but whenever I think back to Ruby, I see Red. Seriously this is seriously creeping me out, so I suppose I'll tell the rest tomorrow.

I had a very bad feeling something bad was happening...

(^^^^^^)

**Sorry if this is a bit weird, but I just had a very depressing moment in life, and my good old buddy DravynLeCrux has helped a lot, you know, considering he's an author half way around the world( I think). Also, I would like to thank UNknown 123 for his/ her's help and reviews. **

**It really is a shame that I don't have any PM's from people. I don't always check my reviews, so PM me for ideas, small talk, reviews and even requests for a story or instance in a story you would like to see. **


	10. the new plan

The next day, Ozpin waved everyone from team JNPR and RWBY into the office of his. Small trinkets of warriors long gone stood on a shelf behind him while a bookcase stood precariously to the left of the room. A small table was littered with cookies and coffee mugs, reminding Yang of Ruby's favourite food.

"I have called you all here for a special mission: to investigate an explosion to a train, not far from where Red was seen going. We need you to bring her back and see if she has any injuries."

Everyone in the small office pondered for a moment, Pyrrha being the first to speak what was on everyone else's mind. "Sir, what if we find evidence that proves she had nothing to do with the explosion? Or if we find evidence suggesting that a third party was there?"

"I never said she was responsible. I have it in my best on information services that she only deals with criminals." He sipped his cup, earning a sigh from Yang.

"Now, if there are no further questions; head to these coordinates." He sent a message to everyone's scroll, giving them the area at which the explosion was last at. "You will be travelling by airship, so get ready and be out there in five minutes."

As the teams left, Ozpin sat back in his onyx chair and started to contemplate on whether telling them Red would be arrested anyway. Meanwhile, as they left his office, Yang spoke up. "Shortest... Meeting...Ever." Everyone had to agree with that, as the meeting seemed a bit rushed.

Weiss spoke for the first time since the meeting, the teams making their way to the airship that was parked outside in the courtyard. "Did anyone feel like he was hiding something?" Yang gave a small "Yes" while Pyrrha and Jaune just nodded, the rest of them seemingly not noticing she had made a question.

They approached the airship, and one by one sat in it, taking seats with their respectable teams. Blake was lost deep in thought and didn't even notice the ship take off, or the pilot tell them they would be there in thirty seconds, or the side doors open and the pilot tell them to jump. She only noticed when Yang grabbed her and threw her out, following her with a parachute.

When she awoke out of her stupor, Yang grabbed her and pulled the parachute, slowing their descent until they landed at the ground. The pair watched as the rest came parachuting down; Nora and Ren with Jaune and Pyrrha. Weiss was alone and just used her glyphs to slow down. The trip to the train went in silence, and before any knew it, they arrived at the wreck. Jaune's jaw hit the floor.

Yang looked like she was about to throw her breakfast up.

Blake looked in amazement.

Nora stopped smiling and Ren was visibly concerned...

...and Weiss' eyes were glued to Red holding a missile which Roman had just shot at her hand. When they all saw Cinder arrive, Red let her guard down, and Weiss had to wonder why. She then watched as the events before her transpired and unfolded, witnessing red's hand practically melt away and not even a scream came form her. Weiss was both intrigued... and scared at the lack of emotion Red had.

"We should do something..." Jaune said, too fearful to even unsheathe Croaca Mors as it would alert the nearby attackers.

"Just wait. We need to see what happens you dolt." Weiss was angered, clearly. Blake silently nodded, Pyrrha and Ren exchanged glances and Yang's violet eyes shifted to red for a split second.

They all watched as Red was then taken captive and placed on a stretcher which led to an airship. Many thoughts had buzzed through their heads at this; why did Red, the most feared person in the entire world, lower her guard at the sight of a person? Even more so, a person who attacked her? this single thought flew around each one of their minds; hitting Yang with concern, Blake with nausea, Weiss with sadness, Pyrrha with determination and Jaune, Ren and Nora with varying degrees of panic.

They watched as Red was carted off and swore they saw her head tilt to the side, staring at them, but Blake dismissed it as the movement of the stretcher.

When she left the area, along with Roman Torchwick and Cinder, Pyrrha had already devised a plan; a cunning and potentially dangerous and life threatening plan.

"I have a plan..." Pyrrha started, already receiving her comrades confused faces as a plea to know for more. She hunched down, pulling out Milo- her javelin- and scraped the ground. She had seen many different kinds of bases and- with the help of Blake, who had a surprising amount of knowledge- made a general map of what they usually looked like. Soon they were all ready to rescue a hated and needed teammate...

They were ready to rescue Red.

(^^^^^^)

She had a long day, and the torture was already beginning to take effect on her. She sat down on an onyx black leather chair, situated in the far corner of her room, just next to the mahogany desk and opposite a coffee table. The room its self wasn't spacious, but at the same time, offered a feeling of closeness with herself. Sitting in the chair, she read a book; a single book which Red had given her when they were children and before the accident. Her parting words to the girl, Cinder, before she left to save Adam was "You remember that book? Next time you see me, tell me what you think."

A next time, who knew there would even be a next time? She hadn't even planned to become a person of crime; considering it was a crime lord who sprung the beowolf trap on her village. She spent weeks to plan and plot and scheme for that man's death, but nothing had ever worked. As she was sitting there, she remembered a news cast of the very first sighting of Red, a mysterious character who donned a red cloak and hood, and wielded a scythe. She then painfully remembered how all her planning had gone to waste as this girl- Red- had killed the mob boss, James Kennelly, in the most gruesome way imaginable, and this put the vigilante n her good graces form that day forward.

Then, a strange thought came to her head; she couldn't remember what Ruby looked like. Her supposed best friend and she couldn't remember what she looked like! Cinder just sat there, pondering the ways she could find out what the girl looked like. She had already felt her soft, calm, red lips against her's and just the thought of them against her's gave her chills of happiness. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that she was falling for the girl, but had never had a relationship before, and so waited for them to be alone for her to confess her feelings.

Yet she knew not how.

She thought and thought, even contemplated asking Roman for advice, but that would leave him suspicious, and she couldn't have that. She then decided it was her only way, and so left the room in a hurry, trying to find Roman. Just as the door swung open she clashed against something; it was a person!

"Cinder?" it was Roman's voice.

"Roman." She mimicked, calming down in an instant. "I was looking for you. I-I need advice."

"You..." he began with a smirk present on his face. "You... need my help?" as he said it, his face grew with not only pleasure at finally being useful, but also confusion as to what it was.

"Please don't make me regret this Roman." She said, pinching her nose bridge and another hand on her temple to quell the growing headache form the impact.

"Of course. What do you need?" he started to frown a bit, as the girl had never asked for help before.

"Advice."

"I gathered that. On what?" his eyebrow rose, as if to help ease the usually calm one out of her stuttering.

"With... people." She stared at him sheepishly, though he didn't quite catch the look as her face was covered in shadows form the dimly lit walkway.

"Care to elaborate?" his other eyebrow set its motion upwards in an arch.

"Friends..." she was extremely vague.

"You have friends? Well, that was unexpected. You never leave the office and spend most of your newly found time chatting..." before he could continue, he stared right at her eyes and caught a glimmer of frustration. "Ma'am. I need more detail to help you. It is rather clear you don't... get out."

His voice was clam and it made her think; he has never been this serious. "Really good friends..." she put emphasis on really, hoping the idiot in front of her would catch on. To her anger, he didn't.

"Best friends? What do you need help with?"

"No, I meant... REALLY good friends." She said in a slightly raised voice. She was starting to doubt the talk they were having if he didn't catch on to that.

"Oh... OH I get it." His brow lowered to his usual place. "So, who is the lucky guy?" his voice was almost playful. It was true that she and Roman were friends, but never good enough for her to actually admit it to anyone.

"Umm. It's a girl... actually." She whispered that last art, but he had heard it nonetheless.

"I... see. And what do you want advice with?"

"You've been out with girls haven't you? Or are you still waving your V card around?" she was now the one playing with him, but he took no reaction to it and paid no heed to her words, only trying to figure out what she wanted. He had thought about the possibility of her asking him what girls wanted, but as if she read his mind, said those faithful words.

"I need to know what it is you want madam Cinder. I cannot help otherwise." He still couldn't see her, but he could tell there was a blush.

"Dating advice, mister Roman." She said it almost too quietly, and before he could answer, an alarm rang out. Fearing it was Red who had escaped, he ran over to the display on the other side of the room, only to see the camera still working and Red still sat there, staring at a wall as she was awoken too by the alarm. He then looked down to his tablet which he raised to his face and saw that one of the pressure valves for the containment room was rusted and shifted ever so slightly out of place. He then heard a report from one of the Faunus working down there, explaining that it was sorted and they were headed back now.

"Right, now that was sorted... where were we?" he honestly did have a short memory, and this was starting to irritate Cinder.

"Never mind Roman. I'll figure it out in time, I suppose..." as she walked towards the interrogation room, she waved behind her and called. "Go and visit the dust shop next on the list. We still have a mission to do."

"Oh shit, I forgot!" team Alpha, Beta and Omega outside now!" he called through his tablet and heard an array of "Yes sir" coming from the team's leaders.

Cinder watched in amusement as Roman swore and scrambled to the airship. She gave a hearty chuckle and entered the interrogation room, hoping to talk to the red hooded girl.

What would happen next shocked her beyond anything she could have ever imagined happening...

**(^^^^^^)**

**I am sorry if this chapter was bad, but I am terrible with these kinds of chapters. Next one will be VERY meaty... *Insane laugh and claps hands*.**

**If anyone compares me to Nora again... I'll break their legs!**


	11. time skip and a new part of the story

**Okay, gonna try something new. Prepare for... time skip!**

**One more thing. I am taking a simpler, easier approach to this story: humour. For those that don't like it, state so. The more times I receive a like for the humour in the reviews, the more I will add humour.**

**Now, on with the show.**

(^^^^^^)

Three weeks. Three weeks and Red wasn't found. The tracer that Blake managed to get on the ship she was taken on was either; found and destroyed, or they were out of range. Ozpin gave them a new team leader, but Yang was convinced that Red was still alive. Needless to say, after she addressed this issue to her other two teammates, the new leader arrived; Velvet. Sure, she was nice, funny, smart, shy and cute, but Red was none of those things; all she showed was a complex past and a form of child-like magnetism to pull people towards her. One of the most un-nerving things about her actually became the reason that they wanted her back; she had a striking resemblance- considering they couldn't ever see her face- to Yang's adoptive sister, Ruby Rose.

Weiss was in her usual position, doing what she did best; studying. It was all she found the time to do, since Red couldn't entertain her with the fantasy of actually being something more than the brains. Blake was suffering the most from the team, as she seemed to be even quieter than the last time... before she met Red. It was as if that Red gave everyone she met the promise of power in exchange for companionship. Blake could tell one thing about red, form the moment she saw tears spill down her chin to the distant gaze she got when she asked about her past. She could tell one thing about her, and it made her want to know her even more, despite the horrors that would be revealed to her if she asked and knew. She knew, that just for one moment, however transparent it may have seemed, that red was still a child at heart. She knew...

...that Red, the girl dressed in her namesake, knew more than she let on, and she was willing to find out.

Yang was unnaturally calm, considering a vigilante/murderer could be her sister. This moment of calmness was, however, displaced by anger when the familiar knocking of none other than professor Ozpin, headmaster of this, and I quote professor Port, "Prestigious academy".

She flung the door open, to be greeted by the tall and yet slightly shorter headmaster, with an addition behind him. This addition set her world spinning, sent her into such an emotional rollercoaster, that she didn't even know if she would recover. It made her head hurt just thinking about it, and boy was she thinking.

There, right in front of her- well, behind Ozpin- stood one person. This one person could either destroy her life, or fix it, and she wasn't willing to let her go once they stepped in the dorm room.

Blake instantly knew said person, flying to her feet and rushing him, sword raised before Weiss could even get a word in. Ozpin just side stepped her, waiting with a look of amusement to see what would entail. They just stood there, white and red mask covering their eyes, two slits to see as they stepped, bringing out some sort of sword- shotgun combination and knocking Blake through the air.

Yang got a glimpse at the inscription on the side of it, and instantly her mind wandered to Ruby. What that inscription said was either good or bad, and knowing Ruby- if she knew her well at all, considering she had a week of knowing her- it was a situation that made her wander again, even deeper into her mind. This figure looked eerily similar to the man Ruby described to her when she first met, and one word formed in her mind, one name she had heard Red whisper in her sleep, one simple name:

"Adam?"

(^^^^^^)

**Three weeks ago...**

Cinder walked carefully over to the now crying Red, for what reason she was crying was still unknown. It had, at first, been a shock to see Red cry, and she had no idea what was happening. Whether this was some weird and sick dream and she would wake up, or that it was real and Red- the girl crying- wasn't Red...

It was Ruby.

This set off some warning bells. This girl clearly had some sort of emotional attachment to her past, but also seemed to feel that Cinder should have remembered her; after all, they did kiss about four hours ago. Then arrived the weird feelings she had been having. Why did she feel this way? There was no logical explanation as to why her heart had forced her to do that, or why her brain didn't take over, or when Red kissed back- be it only briefly- her heart swelled with happiness and elation. Why was this happening to her? She acted on an unknown impulse, creating some sort of reflex moment, where her mind and heart contradicted each other, and raw instinct took over. She had to admit, the feeling of her peach- smooth lips brushing against her's felt good...

No. She couldn't think like that. Ruby was crying, and she needed to see why. Cautiously, she took steps at a time, making her way over to the sobbing girl in red, hood still raised.

"...Ruby? Why are you crying?" she scolded herself after that. 'Why are you being nice? She's the enemy!'

"Red said something, and I don't know what to feel." Each word was punctuated with another sniffle here and a sob there, but nothing overly saddening.

Cinder thought for a moment. Maybe it was Red who kissed her, and Ruby didn't like that. She then thought again. 'Maybe I should ask Red'. Light bulb moment right there; now she was ready.

"Can I talk to Red?"

"I don't know can you?" came the snarky comment from none other than Red herself- well, inside of Ruby's body, that is.

"Ah, Red. What a surprise."

"Can it, girl. Ruby cried and you're acting as if you saw nothing. As if we're still friends..." Cinder was about to shout out some rather indignant things to the girl, but a single, raised hand stopped her. "...Because we're more than that..." now, now was the single most time Cinder had nothing to say.

She finally mustered up the courage to talk, despite the fact that Red was now standing a moment, barely a hair's breadth away from her face, her lips only an inch from her's and yet, even as close as she was, the shadow that her hood cast down on her face concealed it, covering it forever, or at least until she took it off.

"Umm... I... uh... what... umm..." stuttering, real smooth. Smooth like ice. This was all she could get out before Red reached down and took her hands in her own, the hood that covered her face lifted slightly, showing those lips she had tasted earlier.

"Have you made your mind up yet?"

"Umm... what about?" Cinder tilted her head slightly as if to punctuate her confusion with the question.

"With..." she leant up and captured her lips in a fiery kiss, one that could put Cinder's powers to shame. She pulled out, noticing a red faced Cinder and a slight pink dusting on her own cheeks. "...that."

Now was the only time Cinder ever blushed with as red a face as she had now. This was when she made her decision, when she knew of her sexuality once and for all, when she felt good to kiss a girl; one of her own gender. To show she had made her decision, she pulled red by the waste even closer, something that raw instinct did, and leant down to whisper in her ear; three simple words, words that ruined the moment, made Red furious - a good furious, I might add- and made Cinder and Ruby both laugh their socks off.

"Aren't you straight?" moment... gone.

After red blew off steam and the laughter died down, Cinder asked one question that would make her life change forever...

"Hey Red?"

"...Yes?"

What are we? You know, are we an 'us', now?" Cinder's face grew red; all the while she was twiddling her thumbs and looking away from the girl in front of her.

Naivety... nice. She is so alike with Ruby. Too bad that when Red and Ruby finally meld into one person, she won't be able to see it again.

(^^^^^^)

**Short, I know, but I am kinda spent after getting requests, doing those requests, discontinuing stories, writing stories and sleeping in till noon...**

**... Next chapter will be long... so don't have an aneurism! **


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